The First Splash is the Coldest
by imWITCHIN
Summary: Blaine Anderson just transfered to McKinley! The story of Blaine at McKinley and his relationships with Kurt, Karofsky, and the rest of his New Direction's family!
1. BitchSlapped By an Iceberg

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. If I did it would be porn :/

Bitch-Slapped By an Iceberg

His first day. The bright red metal doors of the McKinley High entrance way lacked the warmth of Dalton's ornate mahogany ones; perfectly mirroring the mentality of the students within each. Blaine Anderson swallowed and ran his hands up and down the rough leather of his steering wheel starring at the doors as if willing them to soften.

"Courage, dammit. Courage," he whispered to himself, digging his fingernails into the wheel. Leaning over the passenger seat to grab his messenger-style bag, Blaine heard a tap on the window. Looking up he saw Puck and Lauren standing outside his navy blue Volvo, waving animatedly. Smiling in relief at having at least two familiar, "friendly" faces to walk into the building with him, Blaine opened the door and greeted them.

"Jesus, Anderson. It looks like you got body-snatched by an Albino hobbit. You have a run-in with an over eager vampire on your way here?" Puck clapped a hand on Blaine's shoulder, looking him up and down as they walked toward to the harsh, red doors. His comments, however, had been mostly drowned out by the blood thumping loudly in Blaine's ears and he looked at Puckerman with a look of genuine confusion.

"He means," said a soft, nasally voice from his other side, "that you look pale." Quinn leveled with Blaine and gave his elbow a soft squeeze. "It's gonna be fine," she whispered, getting very close to his left side. Blaine reached for her hand and gave it a quick squeeze before letting go and holding both hands firmly on his messenger bag strap.

"Listen, Warbler. Anyone gives you trouble, and I mean ANYONE, you come to me, ok? I got your back." Puck looked down at Blaine fiercely, a hand still gripped on his shoulder, guiding him through the hallways like a Blaine was dog on a leash. At that moment they turned a corner, and for the first time that day, Blaine's feelings of dread lessoned. There he was, dressed head-to-toe in Burberry that he had been saving especially for the first day of school, and carefully taping what looked like a photo to the inside of a locker door. Mumbling farewells, the Blaine's escort scattered to their assorted lockers in the same hallway as Blaine walked with purpose to stand directly behind his boyfriend.

"I love that picture," Blaine said quietly. Kurt turned around, surprised, and smiled at him. It was a picture taken that summer by Brittany at her 4th of July pool party. The sun was in the final stages of setting as Blaine and Kurt were curled in a single pool chair, Blaine holding a sparkler lazily and smiling sleepily while Kurt's head lulled on his shoulder.

"Yes. Yes, it's one of my favorites, "Kurt breathed, looking over his shoulder at the picture, fondly. Kurt smiled at him, melting Blaine and gluing him in place. How had he been scared to come here? Kurt was here. He belonged with Kurt. "So how does it feel to be in a learning environment without a blazer on?" Kurt smiled coyly at him, tweaking Blaine's collar on his forest green polo and looking over his dark jeans and brown athletic shoes with an approving nod. "Even though, you've gotten about as close as you could to blending in without physically wearing a uniform, so that's pretty impressive."

"I just wanted to be comfortable today. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss the blazer a little when I first walked in."

Kurt grabbed his hand. "And now?" he asked, squeezing his hand.

"Better. Just need to keep reminding myself to take my own advice about courage. That, and I can smell what smells increasingly like a medium drip coming from your locker." Kurt blushed and reached inside the locker, pulled out two large cups of coffee, and handed one to Blaine.

"I thought you might need a little pick-me-up on your first day." Blaine smiled and was about to make a flirty comment about Kurt knowing his coffee order, when the bell rang. "What class do you have first?" Blaine dug around in his bag for his schedule.

"Trigonometry with Mr. Gregory, you?" he said, looking back up at Kurt like a lost puppy.

"French. They're close, I'll escort you." They walked slowly, Kurt pointing out various rooms and teachers to Blaine on the way, and the hallways were virtually empty by the time they reached Mr. Gregory's room. "Here you go, I'll see you at lunch and then glee practice ok?" Kurt gazed at Blaine as he flashed him a reassuring smile. Blaine's fear had pretty much dissipated while walking the halls with Kurt and he felt himself getting more and more excited about this new chapter in his life.

"Ok! See you." Blaine grabbed and squeezed Kurt's hand before he turned and walked towards the classroom door.

"Blaine, wait! I forgot to tell you something!" Blaine turned suddenly to see Kurt bouncing towards him.

"What is it?" Blaine asked, figuring it was something along the lines of 'Don't use the bathroom on the third floor unless you want to smell like smoke for the rest of the day' or 'The third snack machine from the left ALWAYS steals your money'. But before he had the chance to imagine any more scenarios, his mind became fogged and his senses dulled. Kurt was kissing him. In the middle of the (albeit, empty) hallway.

Kurt pulled away after a few seconds, far too soon for either's liking, but kept one hand resting on the hook of Blaine's collar bone and the other on his nonfat mocha. He took a sip, never letting his eyes leave Blaine- who looked like he'd just been socked in the gut- and licked his lips. Smiling, he whispered, "Good luck," and walked away. Blaine's mind finally returned to him as Kurt swung around the corner and he stumbled into Trigonometry just as the tardy bell rang, buzzing with adrenaline.

The rest of the day passed with relative ease. The New Directions had seemed to receive some sort of secret memo from Kurt to shadow Blaine's every move that day, so there was hardly a moment when at least one of them wasn't around. And after the third time in a row Artie wheeled over his new shoes when he attempted to pass him, Blaine realized there was slim chance of shaking them off, even if he had wanted to.

Blaine quickly realized that not everyone at McKinley was as rampantly homophobic as he had built them up to be. He got some weird looks, yes, but they were mainly because of the fact that he was a new kid whose hair looked like it had been carved off an Elvis statue and stuck to his head with shellac. (He made a mental note to go a little lighter on the gel tomorrow morning.) Some of the brave souls that spoke to him in his classes were actual quite nice. Many of them in theatre, band, or a variety of arts could care less about the fact that he was gay, and some even complimented him and Kurt as a couple. Others remarked about the other times Blaine had appeared at McKinley.

"Ohmygod, you're _gay?_" whined a girl in his English class. "What a waist. Damn. Hummel is one lucky guy. He gets out of this rinky-dink shack and comes back with a hottie."

"The way you sang to him on the stairs? And stood up and danced with him at prom? Ugh, I _so _wish a guy would do that for _me,_" said another girl in his Chemistry lab.

By the time glee practice rolled around, Blaine was feeling almost at home at McKinley. Not only did he have his friends in the glee club, but he had at least one person in every class that he felt comfortable enough with to talk to. A small, mousy girl named Bernie in his History lecture had even slipped him a gum wrapper on his way out the door with her phone number and the message "If you and Kurt ever want a third party ;)" scribbled on it in purple ink. Flattered, but mildly aghast, Blaine pretended he thought it was simply a gum wrapper and thanked her before spitting his gum into it and throwing it away hurriedly.

Yes, everything seemed to be going quite swimmingly on his first day, and there was a certain spring in his step as he made his way from Italian to glee practice that afternoon; fifteen minutes late due to a chat with Mrs. Lombardi about how yes, he was qualified to be in Italian level 4 due to the fact that he had completed Italian level 3 at Dalton and could speak it fluently. And then, as he was walking past the boy's locker room, it hit him. The pain was like nothing he had ever experienced, worse than a punch in the face or kick to the stomach; like a thousand little knives tearing his face apart at once. Blaine simply stood there, literally frozen, as cherry slushie oozed down his face.

"Welcome to McKinley, Dancing Queen!"

The last bell of the day had wrung and the New Directions twittered and hummed around the choir room, excited to be back together and preparing for competition yet again. Kurt was among them, gossiping about fellow students' summer haircuts and tans gone wrong, but anxiously checking his phone every few seconds, attempting to will a respond from Blaine to appear on it. Practice started five minutes ago. Was he lost? Was he with a teacher? Ten minutes ago. Did he have to go home early and forgot to tell Kurt? Did he have to talk to Principal Figgins? Fifteen minutes ago.

"Welcome to McKinley, Dancing Queen!" The entire club jumped to their feet as they heard the biting catcall and barking laugh of Azimio Adams echoing from the hallway, Kurt the first one up. They all screeched to a halt as they saw Blaine standing there, perfectly still, eyes squeezed shut, as drops of red slushie dripped, dripped, dripped to the floor. Then, movement.

"Oh HELL nah!" cried Mercedes watching Azimio strut down the hall.

"That is NOT OK man," growled Sam, as he, Finn, Puck, Mike, and Artie stormed after the lumbering jock, clearly not minding if things turned violent. Mr. Schue and the rest of the glee girls grabbed the boys as Azimio broke into a run. Lauren on the other hand, broke free of the crowd and ran after him. Seconds later they heard several *SLAM*s and cries of pain (that were decidedly male).

"Mess with Hummel or his boy toy again I will teach your ass exactly what it means to ruffle the feathers of the AA Ohio State Wrestling Champion!"

Meanwhile, Kurt was trying to console Blaine. He motioned to Mr. Schue that he was taking Blaine into the restroom to clean up before grabbing his newly-sticky boyfriend by the arm and guiding him to the men's room. Leading him to the sink, Kurt turned on the water and wet a cloth that he dabbed on Blaine's face just enough so he could open his eyes without subjecting them to red food-coloring and high fructose corn syrup. When his eyes were open he looked at Kurt, who smiled at him with that beautiful, sorrowful smile.

"Hurts like a bitch, doesn't it?" Blaine laughed at the tone in Kurt's voice.

"I had no idea it would feel that bad," he smiled and sighed as he cupped warm water in his hands and splashed it onto his face. "Crap, it's all down my shirt too. I should've worn a poncho." Kurt laughed and unbuttoned the last few buttons at Blaine's neck, but the sticky redness crawled down even farther.

"Ugh, it's no use Blaine it's all down your chest and even your stomach."

"Whatever, I'll just shower when I get home." Blaine stood up straight from where he'd been crouching over the sink, cleaning slushie out of his ears, and cringed.

"What is it? Are you hurt?" Kurt went into panic mode. Bracing Blaine against himself and holding a wet towel to his forehead, just for good measure.

"It's just," Blaine let out a tiny laugh, "it's just a little…sticky." He held his shirt out away from his chest. "On my hair." Kurt looked at him point blank, before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Take it off then," Kurt laughed.

"Wait. What?" Blaine was laughing and looking at Blaine with his 'you can't be serious' face.

"You can't dance to Mr. Schuster's unbearably tacky choreography if the hair is being ripped off your torso with every jazz square, cant you? Take it off! We're gonna clean off the slushie." Blaine smiled and pulled his shirt over his head, winking at Kurt as he did so just to see him blush uncontrollably. Even after several months of dating, there was just something about Blaine that _did_ something to Kurt; a chemical reaction that sent blood formerly used to keep him from going lightheaded into his cheeks. Blaine loved it.

Kurt wet another paper towel with scalding hot water and pressed it against Blaine's chest, wiping the sticky, red substance off little by little. His face was inches from Blaine's and he looked up at him and planted a kiss on the side of his mouth.

"Will I live?" asked Blaine, sweetly smiling at Kurt, who's eyes had moved back to his chest.

"I've certainly had worse. At least you didn't get blue. It turns everything blue. And when I say everything, I _mean_…everything." He had looked back up at Blaine for just a split second with a smile, but it faded at the look of pity and heartache written all over Blaine's still slightly red face.

"Why are people so _stupid_? I mean, _slushies_? Who thinks of that?" Blaine and Kurt both looked at each other for a moment before laughing. "Not to mention a waste of a perfectly good beverage." Kurt, still laughing, twisted his arms around Blaine, who held him there, cheek to Kurt's forehead. This is how they were, how they could be, when no one else was around.

"Don't leave," Kurt whispered.

"What? Kurt, I think we have to go to glee eventually."

"No. Not that. I mean, don't leave McKinley. We can do it, we can stand up to them together. We can turn the crowd in _our_ favor. I know you might regret coming now, but just…stay. Please."

"Kurt…" Blaine said, hand firmly placed on the back of Kurt's neck, rubbing tension out of it with his thumb. "Kurt, I'm sure I'll love it here. We can overcome them, together, like you said. I'm not quitting. Not this time." And then they were kissing, and it was blissful. Nothing else mattered: not the slushies, or the glee club, or Bernie, with her creepy sexual advances, or those damn red, metal doors.

"Hey, how's it going in he- whoa!" Sam had just walked into the bathroom and Kurt and Blaine detached themselves long enough to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"I just…a clean shirt…used to be Blaine's anyway…thought maybe…here." He held the old Dalton Academy t-shirt out to Blaine, smiling with his adorably awkward smile, clearly feeling bad about walking in on them.

"Thanks, man," said Blaine, smiling genuinely up at him and reaching up for the shirt, the other hand still quite at home on Kurt's hip, thumb tracing tiny circles there.

"Mr. Schue says practice starts in five minutes. For real this time. He said something about how you still technically have to audition, Blaine." Sam chuckled, knowing it was ridiculous.

"We'll be down in a minute, thanks Sam," said Kurt in a sing-song voice, making it clear to Sam that it was time for him to go.

After the door had close behind Sam, Kurt looked back at Blaine, now dressed in his old t-shirt, hair still slightly damp.

"What if we're wrong and we can't make any difference? What if things just get worse?" Kurt looked at Blaine with real terror in his eyes. What if they couldn't be together? What if love wasn't enough?

"You know what? I genuinely don't think it will. And even if it does? To me, you're worth it."

"You're worth a lot more than this." Kurt leaned in a pressed a soft kiss on Blaine's lips, and as he did so Blaine let out a little musical sigh of content. "Courage, Blaine."

"Courage," Blaine said as he smiled and took Kurt's hand, pulling him out of the bathroom to the choir room with the rest of the New Directions. It was a new year. It was going to be _their_ year.


	2. Surprise Me

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. If I did it would be porn :/

Surprise Me

"Ok guys," said Mr. Schuester, clapping his hands as the New Directions settled down after the bell rang, "welcome back! I'm sure you all had wonderful summers full of scandalous occurrences I honestly do not want to hear about, but I'm excited we're all back and eager to get ready for Sectionals!" The class whooped and clapped in response.

"Also let's give a warm, New Directions welcome to the newly _official_ member of our family, the former Warbler, Blaine Anderson!" He motioned to Blaine, who was sitting in the back looking perfectly at ease with his arm draped around the back of Kurt's chair, legs lazily crossed. The class let out some more whoops and patted Blaine as he nodded in thanks. Kurt clapped excitedly, kissing Blaine on the cheek and causing him to blush.

"And now, as it is just the second day of school, I want to _ease_ you into this year with a simple assignment. But not _too_ easy mind you! We are still a nearly nationally ranked high school show choir here!"

"Hell yeah, 12th place is the new 1st place Mr. Schue," called out Mercedes, to the laughs and clapping of the rest of the class.

"There's the attitude I want guys! Ok, like I was saying. You all know each other, you've seen each other perform; you know how and what you do best. This week's assignment is to perform a song that is NOT what we expect from you. SURPRISE ME! Show me what _you_ _got_ that I didn't know you had." Mr. Schue finished his explanation as the class broke out in separate conversations.

"Oh no, I guess that means no Katy Perry. Do you want me to get you a bucket for your tears?" teased Kurt as he looked at Blaine on his right, who made a face of mock pain.

"Zing! Got me with that one. How about I let you _borrow_ the bucket while I'm busy hiding your entire collection of Broadway sheet music?" Kurt playfully nudged him.

"You would be funnier if you weren't right, actually. I have no idea what I'm going to do," Kurt said smiling awkwardly. "How about you come over after school tomorrow and help me…figure it out…" Kurt whispered it in his ear like a secret, sending a little shiver down Blaine's spine, and he hummed weakly in response.

The next morning, Kurt told Finn to give him a ride to school so that he could ride with Blaine after glee practice. Kurt loved riding in Blaine's car. It was a 2006 navy blue Volvo that Blaine kept immaculately clean, inside and out. His favorite thing about it was how, when he sat inside with the doors and windows closed, it smelled completely and utterly of Blaine. The woody flavor of Polo Black mixed delightfully well with the smell of his hair gel and a light undertone of coffee.

As they parked in the driveway of Kurt's own house that afternoon, Kurt stayed in his seat for a moment, struggling with part of his belt, which was lined with fringe that had gotten stuck in the seat belt clasp. When he finally freed himself and turned to open the door he found it already open, Blaine standing there smiling smarmily at him.

"I know. I know what you're thinking. But this belt? Totally worth it," Kurt said, taking Blaine's outstretched hand. Blaine entwined their fingers and lifted them to kiss Kurt's knuckles as they walked to the front door.

"No, no, fashion is sacrificing, I completely understand," he said, just barley giving any hint of sarcasm. He dropped Kurt's hand as the latter unlocked the door and they walked inside. Blaine looked around for Burt and Carole, but the place seemed deserted. Finn hadn't driven in behind them yet either.

"Where is everyone?" Blaine asked, hesitantly. He followed as Kurt walked to the kitchen and started making glasses of lemonade.

"Dad and Carole got tickets to some 70s has-been in Columbus so they wanted to make a day of it and left this morning. Finn has football practice and then tonsil hockey with Rachel after school." Kurt handed him his glass and smiled.

"Sooo, what you're saying is that we have an empty house to ourselves, potentially for _hours_?" Blaine stood up until his face was inches away from Kurt's and wiggled his eyebrows. Kurt snorted.

"Ok, slow down there horn-dog. My dad runs a garage, remember? And as much as he likes you I'm sure he would have very little difficulty snapping the breaks in a Volvo."

"You know? For my sake, I hope that saying about 'the boy who teases you is the one who likes you' is true because you seem to love tearing me to shreds," Blaine said, tangling his fingers in the fringe of Kurt's belt and kissing his jaw.

"Mmmm, it is." Kurt moaned, before backing away. "Ok, let's at least attempt to work on this glee assignment, please?" He looked at Blaine with a no-nonsense face. "I don't want them thinking I brought you along just for eye-candy." Blaine feigned a gasp.

"Wait, they expect me to _work?_ You didn't just want me to join for my dazzling good looks?"

"I consider them a bonus. Now, let's go upstairs." Kurt made for the stair case and Blaine walked obediently behind him, grabbing his sheet music out of his bag as he passed it.

Kurt perched himself elegantly on his bed so as not to rumple his outfit.

"Ok, so Blaine. What did you end up choosing to sing for this week's assignment?" Kurt looked at him curiously, taking a long sip of his lemonade.

"Well, since everyone expects me to do something Top 40 or today's modern charts in general I have chosen to sing The Chiffon's classic, "One Fine Day"." Blaine smiled and looked at Kurt for his approval. Kurt's face was questioning, as if waiting for more explanation. "It's definitely not from today, being written in 1963. And…and…it's traditionally sung by women and…and…why are you looking at me like that? What's wrong with it?" Blaine looked down as his sheet music pathetically.

"Nothing! I mean, it's a great song, don't get me wrong, but…come on. Blaine." Kurt looked at him, one eyebrow crooked high above the other.

"What?" Blaine whined.

"Everyone _expects_ you to do exactly that, Blaine! An upbeat, pop song! They've _seen_ you do that! You need to go in a _totally_ new direction. Excuse the pun."

"What are you doing then?" Blaine asked.

"I will be singing," said Kurt reaching for sheet music stacked neatly on his desk and holding it up, "Cage the Elephant's "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"." Blaine looked up at him, eyebrows high on his forehead in questioning. "It's a Top 40 hit, with absolutely no chance for me to accentuate my vibrato, and it's traditionally sung by a man. That, sir, is the definition of unexpected." Blaine looked at him, his face clearly displaying how impressed he was.

"Wow, Kurt. I must say, well thought out. But I wonder; how did you even _find_ that song?" The corners of his mouth rose a little as he asked. Kurt didn't respond. His cheeks were red and he was determinately shuffling through a large book of sheet music he'd brought over from his book case.

"It was on the suggested list when you searched "Wicked" on iTunes, wasn't it?" Kurt still didn't answer. "Wasn't it, Kurt?" Blaine was full-out grinning now, watching Kurt squirm.

"That's- that's completely beside the point," Kurt said, finally smiling a little. "Now, as I have chosen the perfect song for _me_ it's time to decide the perfect song for _you."_ Kurt plunked the gigantic book of sheet music directly onto Blaine's lap.

"Broadway's Greatest Hits? Really?" Blaine looked at the book in his lap questioningly. "I'll admit it, I certainly find it unexpected." He opened the book to the table of contents and started looking through.

"I have one in mind, "said Kurt, reaching around Blaine and turning the pages. "But if you're going to do it, you're going to have to really commit. It's no song for an amateur." Blaine raised his eyebrows at him.

"Are you questioning my ability to be theatrical? Because I assure you, I am no show tune virgin."

"I am simply insinuating that this song is one of _the_ defining male songs known to Broadway. And that, if you plan on singing it, you're going to have to _really_ sing it, ok?" Blaine nodded and mimed crossing his heart. Kurt chuckled and kissed him softly. "I have faith in you," he whispered.

"Oh… kay!" said Mr. Schue, clapping his hands. "Well done, Noah! I'll admit, the choice of "How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria" was…unexpected! A refreshing arrangement, A+!" He patted Puck on the back as he went back to his seat, high-fiving Lauren. "So, who would like to go next?"

"Mr. Schue, if I may?" Kurt raised one finger in the air to get attention. "I believe Blaine is the only one who has yet to perform his number." Blaine scowled at him as Kurt continued to stare pointedly at Mr. Schuester.

"Yes. Yes, Kurt I believe you're right. Blaine? Let's see what you got." Blaine walked slowly to the middle of the classroom before turning to face the rest of his team mates.

"I will be performing the song "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables" from Les Miserables," Blaine said with a weak smile. Rachel gasped loudly, gaining stares from the rest of the class.

"Are you sure?" she asked, quite seriously. "Blaine, you have incredible dedication as an audience pleaser, but that song requires a serious connection to the tragic onslaught of colossal heartache and regret. I'm just not sure you're capable of-"

"_Rachel_," snarled Kurt. "How about you let him actually sing it first, and you can critique it after he's done, ok?" Blaine looked at her apologetically before sending a wink in Kurt's direction.

As the opening violins started, Blaine's face contorted into a heart-breaking figure of misery, and then he sang. Pain resonated in every word, every phrase; his hands reaching out for his departed friends, mourning their loss, _feeling_ their sacrifice in every fiber of his being. As he reached the climax of the song, it seemed like the air had been sucked from the room; no one moved an inch, held fast by the sound of Blaine's voice echoing off of every surface.

When he finished, the silence remained. Every eye was wide, staring in disbelief; some of the girls were even crying. Rachel was the first to move, standing and clapping enthusiastically, wiping the tears off her cheeks. Kurt was soon to follow. Swelling with pride he flew down the steps to the floor and threw his arms around Blaine's neck as the entire room exploded in applause.

"Did I do it justice?" Blaine asked as Kurt pulled away from him, arms still around his neck.

"I'll be honest," whispered Kurt. "I've never been more attracted to you than I am at this moment."

Kurt gave him a quick but meaningful kiss, which was met by an enthusiastic "Ow OW" from Santana. They both laughed, and Kurt dragged Blaine by the hand back up to their seats as Mr. Schue walked to the front of the class, still clapping.

"WOW! Blaine, I think the reaction speaks for itself, but incase it didn't, WELL DONE! I'm very proud of you for taking those steps outside your comfort zone and tackling a larger-than-life Broadway classic."

"Yeah, Berry better watch her back now. She's got a little Warbler on her heals!" Lauren laughed at her own joke as the rest of the class made various teasing "Ooooh" and "Oh hell nah" noises. Rachel merely crossed her arms and legs and stuck her chin out.

"On the contrary, I welcome the addition of a male member of the club who has the proper tone and discipline of a trained Broadway vocalist to accentuate my abilities as a female soloist. No offense, Finn." Finn, who looked as if he's absorbed maybe a third of what Rachel had just said, merely nodded.

Blaine smiled at all of them, loving the recognition, but even more, loving the acceptance. He was a member of the family now. "Thanks so much, everyone. It means a lot," he said sheepishly. "And I promise to bring everything I can to the table to help you guys be just that much better than you already are. Cause frankly, at National's this year? I want to win." He smirked.

"Blaine Warbler," said Puck, "join the club." The rest of the class laughed and clapped.

"Actually," Kurt whispered, his lips dangerously close to Blaine's ear, "you already did that." He kissed Blaine's temple and pushed some loosened curls back into place.


	3. Gay Boys Love Balls

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. If I did it would be porn :/

Gay Boys Love Balls

"You have GOT to be kidding me with this," said Kurt, left eyebrow raised several inches above the right, arms and legs crossed, starring in disbelief at Blaine. The couple sat across from one another at their usual table at the Lima Bean, drinking iced coffees since it was still relatively warm out.

"Why would I joke about it? Kurt, you know how much I like football," Blaine said sipping his iced Caffè Americano calmly.

"Yes but…but…I thought you liked _watching_ football! I didn't know you actually had any interest in _playing_." Kurt fiddled with the lid of his iced Peppermint Mocha, trying to avoid looking directly at Blaine.

"Well, we didn't actually have a team at Dalton or I would have. Besides, what's the big deal? All the guys in glee club are on the football team. And _don't_ say 'except me' because I know for a fact you were on it your sophomore year." Blaine looked up, grinning wickedly at Kurt who choked a little on his mocha.

"Who-? _Finn_," snarled Kurt, knuckles whitening in a fist. He knew he shouldn't have left him and Blaine alone together while he got ready for their date. Dangerous things were discussed. Things like his stint on the football team, for example.

"Look, tryouts are in a couple days, I'm just gonna go out and see how I stack up to the other guys ok? You can just hope that I'm awful and don't make the team. However," he said, grabbing Kurt's hand is his and tracing circles on the back of it with his thumb, "it would mean a lot to me if you were out there, cheering me on."

"Hmmm, and why on earth would I do that?" Kurt asked, unable to keep from smiling as Blaine's thumb on his hand sent little shivers up and down his arm.

"Well," said Blaine, cocking his head just slightly and lowering his gaze from Kurt's, "you _were _on the cheerleading squad for awhile too, weren't you?" He couldn't help but smirk as he looked up into Kurt's entirely un-amused face.

"I hope Finn enjoys doing dishes as much as he does talking about other people's business with their significant others because he's totally doing my share for the next two weeks at _least_." Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand as he laughed.

"Don't be mad at Finn, I would've found out eventually. But that's not the point. The point is, try outs are on Thursday, just in case you want to come."

"Blaine, did you ever think that it might not be _safe_ for you to join the football team?" Kurt looked at him seriously.

"Oh, come on. I know I'm short but I can take a hit just as well as any other-"

"No! That's not what I mean. I'm not worried about the _opposing_ team. I'm- I'm worried about _our_ team." Kurt looked at Blaine meaningfully, emphasizing his words so that Blaine knew he was being absolutely 100% serious.

"Kurt, I'll be perfectly safe. Between Finn, Sam, Puck, Mike, Artie, and Karofsky no one will be able to get at me with anything more aggressive than a water bottle. Besides, maybe it'll actually end up helping! They'll be able to see that a gay guy can play football just as well as a straight one. Hopefully." Blaine chuckled at himself and Kurt smiled pityingly at him.

"Just…be careful ok?" Kurt said as they both rose from their seats and walked towards the front door together. Blaine linked their hands together as they walked, swinging them slightly and causing Kurt to grim at him. "If you get hurt I'll… Just don't get hurt, ok?"

They had reached the car by this point and Blaine walked to the tiny walking space between the next car over and the passenger side, moving to open the door for Kurt and instead grabbed him by the waist and held him against the side of his navy Volvo. Kurt opened his mouth to make a noise of surprise but Blaine silenced it, capturing it in a kiss that made all of Kurt's muscles turn to noodles. He responded enthusiastically, wrapping both arms around Blaine's neck as the latter's hands held the small of his back. When they broke apart Blaine leaned his forehead against Kurt's.

"If I promise to stay as safe as possible, can I please play football with the big kids?" Kurt laughed softly and ran his hand along Blaine's jaw. It was so perfect, so whole. What would he do if he had to look at it in broken tatters? What would he do if he saw the usually pristine face covered in scrapes and bruises? Just the thought of it made him want to vomit and scream and rip things apart. So instead, he looked at the face as it was now; pleading, like a child's.

"You do whatever makes you happy," sighed Kurt in resignation. "And if you get hurt, I promise to be there to hold 'I told you so' over your head forever; or just as soon as I nurse you back to health." Blaine laughed and gave him another quick kiss before opening the passenger seat for Kurt to slip in.

"What's your name, son? I do not recall seeing you on my team last year," said Coach Beiste as she approached Blaine, who was fully clothed in tryout garb and three to four inches shorter than the rest of the guys there.

"Blaine Anderson, Coach. I transferred here from Dalton Academy this year." Blaine flashed her a large, but still genuine, smile. He had heard from all of the other guys what a decent person (not to mention a great coach) she was, and he had a feeling that if he made it on the team, he would like her too.

"Dalton, huh?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "Not a whole lot of opportunity for playing football there, if I'm correct."

"Just another one of the many wonderful things about McKinley, Coach," laughed Blaine.

"Well, son, which sport _did_ you play at Dalton? I know they have well-ranked soccer and swim teams. On either of those by any chance?" Beiste looked down at him expectantly.

"No, Coach, I'm afraid not. I was actually part of the glee club, the Warblers. With Kurt." Blaine pointed up to the stands where an immaculately dressed, pale, slender figure sat between a large black girl and a small tan one who appeared to be talking animatedly. The pale boy in the stands gave a tiny wave as he noticed them looking in his direction, and Blaine waved back.

"Of course you were," said Beiste, clapping him on the shoulder and walking away. So this was the boy Will had mentioned, the one with the "amazing" voice; the boyfriend of last year's Prom Queen. She had to admit, the kid had balls. It took a lot of nerve to walk into a new school, out and proud, and tryout for the football team. She just hoped that, for his sake, he could play the game.

Kurt sat with Rachel and Mercedes in the bleachers beside the field, twisting his hands in his laps nervously as they discussed their song choice for that week's glee assignment.

"Kurt. Kurt. KURT." Kurt jumped, looking up at Rachel, who had called his name, wrenching himself free of his thoughts.

"Hmmm?" He hummed, looking back at the football field. It was empty, the team was evidently still in the locker room. Every minute Blaine didn't emerge from those doors Kurt drew worse and worse conclusions; picturing him in a ball on floor, being kicked repeatedly in the stomach, or slammed up against locker after locker. The guys and Karofsky had promised to protect him, but six of them against a full football team? The odds weren't good.

Finally, the doors opened and a stream of burly teenage boys rushed out of them. Kurt's eyes scanned the pack frantically for Blaine. He found him, a good few inches shorter than everyone around him, running alongside Puck and Sam, helmet under his arm. Kurt starred for a second; he had forgotten that football pants were made primarily of spandex.

'No. Focus. Look at his face. His _face_,' Kurt thought as the already established team went to the middle of the field to begin warming up and the tryouts formed a line facing Kurt's bleachers. Blaine looked up at them, catching Kurt's eye and sending him a dazzlingly smile.

"He's genuinely excited about this!" said Kurt, causing Mercedes and Rachel to look at him in surprise.

"I know it doesn't always seem like it, babe, but your boyfriend is, in fact, a _boy,_" said Mercedes, placing an understanding hand on Kurt's shoulder.

"So am I!" said Kurt exasperatedly. "That's kind of the foundation of our entire relationship!" The girls laughed as Kurt turned back to face the football field and Blaine.

"Oh, come on Kurt. Having a boyfriend on the football team is _hot_! And, take it from us," she said pointing to herself and Mercedes, "football helps them take out their innate male requisite to hit things and compete against other males. It also gives them a chance to take out their anger in channeled and prolific manner. It's healthy." Mercedes nodded in agreement. Rachel and Kurt were the only ones who knew about her and Sam, and it was nice being able to talk about him as her 'boyfriend' every once and awhile.

Kurt had continued looking at Blaine throughout all of this. Coach Beiste had approached him and Blaine was of course wearing his most charming smile and talking animatedly to her. As he watched, he saw him point up at the bleachers in his direction. Beiste turned to look at them, and Kurt gave a tiny wave, which Blaine reciprocated. He looked so happy. How could anything that made Blaine so happy be bad?

"Maybe you're right," sighed Kurt. Rachel and Mercedes gave him little pats on the back and nodded in agreement. Just then, Coach Beiste blew her whistle and the new recruits took to the field at a jog.

**A/N—Sorry, this is kind of a segway piece for a the greater plot, which I have finally formulated! Mostly… Anyway, just bear with me on this one because I think I'm going to be getting really into it after this. Review! Tell me what you think happen/ what you want to see happen! Tell me what you think of how I'm writing the characters so far! Tell me anything! **


	4. Any Friend of My Brother's

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. If I did it would be porn :/

Any Friend of My Brother's

"Can we please go somewhere else?" Kurt pleaded.

"Of course, Kurt, if you want to," said Mercedes, getting up to leave. Rachel followed suit, nodding enthusiastically.

"While I encourage Finn's playing of it, I can only handle so much football myself, before I become bored beyond recognition and start imagining the game turning into an old-fashioned gang rumble; ala "West Side Story"." Kurt nodded at her allusion, and to give the impression that he, too, was bored with the tryouts below them.

In reality, he had insisted that they leave early because no matter how "hot" his friends seemed to think having a boyfriend on the football team was, he really hated sitting there and watching large men slam Blaine to the ground repeatedly. As they walked down the bleachers, Beiste blew her whistle for a water break and Finn and Blaine ran up to the sidelines to converse with their significant others. Sam hung back, smiling his large, goofy grin at Mercedes and winking at her.

"Where ya goin'?" asked Blaine, putting his helmet under his arm, revealing his sweaty hair and face, along with a stunning, endorphin induced smile.

"The girls and I are going to the mall. Back-to-school shopping and all that." Kurt smiled at him, not fully letting it reach his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Blaine asked, grabbing at Kurt's fingers which were twisting and fiddling in front of him.

"Nothing!" Kurt's answer was a little too cheery and Blaine didn't buy it. He looked at him, eyebrow raised. "I just, I don't like watching you get thrown around like you're a blunt at a frat party. And I know-"Kurt held up his hand to silence the argument Blaine had opened his mouth to make, "that it's all part of the game. Doesn't mean I like watching it." Blaine smiled at him almost apologetically, understanding. "I promise, if you get on the team I will come to every home game and cheer you and the rest of the guys on. I just don't want to watch you kill yourself in practice, ok?" Blaine nodded, still smiling.

"Call you later to tell you how it went?" Blaine asked, tilting his head to the left adorably. Kurt nodded. Blaine, realizing the girls were waiting for Kurt off to the side leaned in for a quick goodbye kiss. Kurt shrunk away from him, making a face.

"Do _not_ take this the wrong way, but you're smelling a little ripe my dear," said Kurt, patting the hand of Blaine's that he was holding. Blaine threw his head back, laughing, as Coach Beiste blew her whistle to being tryouts again. He pulled one of Kurt's hands to his lips, kissed it, and ran back to the field after sending a quick wave in Rachel and Mercedes' direction.

The ladies linked their arms in either of Kurt's as they walked to his car, laughing about football and the silly boys that loved to play it.

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Kurt stumbled in the doorway minutes before he was expected for dinner that evening, laden with shopping bags and feet burning with the pain of overuse in improper footwear. Before he knew what was happening, Kurt found himself face down on the ground. Looking around for what had tripped him, Kurt saw a pair of positively gargantuan tennis shoes lying smack dab in the middle of the foyer. Standing up and fixing his hair, cursing under his breath, Kurt grabbed his shopping bags.

"FINN!" he yelled, resenting the fact he had to lay down the rules of proper shoe placement _yet again_.

"We're up here dude!" Finn's voice carried down the stairs from his bedroom. We? Kurt set his bags in his room before making his way into Finn's, where he could hear the unmistakable sounds of fake killing emitting from the Xbox.

"Finn, seriously, it's not that hard to _wait_ to take off the boats you call shoes until you get to your ro- Blaine?" Kurt did a double-take. There, in the two chairs in front of the TV, sat his brother and his boyfriend; both of whom were enthusiastically tapping buttons on controllers and making noises of excitement and subsequent disappointment.

"Hey! You're home! Give me one second," Blaine said, before launching a vicious assault on the A key on his controller. Both screens flashed white momentarily as Blaine threw a fist in the air, making a noise of victory as Finn moaned into his own lap. Throwing down his controller he stood to meet Kurt, who was grinning at him with a look usually given by parents when their children say something adorably dim.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Kurt said leaning in to give him a quick kiss hello. "I would have made more of an effort to be pleasant." Finn snorted.

"Well, after tryouts were over Finn said I should just go ahead and come over so I could tell you in person," Blaine said, grinning . The trio began walking downstairs to the kitchen where Burt and Carole were finishing setting the table for dinner.

"Tell me what?" Kurt said looking from Blaine to Finn, curiously.

"Meet one of McKinley High's new starting Wide Receivers!" Blaine held out his arms as if to display himself. Kurt clapped and hugged him quickly. Burt clapped him on the back.

"Well done, kid. You must be quite the runner," he said as they took their seats around the table.

"Aw man, Burt. He was incredible. I've never seen someone that small run that far that fast in my entire life," Finn said as he shoveled whole wheat spaghetti into his mouth.

"Thanks man," Blaine said, smiling with chagrin at Finn. Kurt just looked from him to the rest of the people sitting around the table. How had he gotten this lucky?

"Not to mention," said Finn, swallowing, "he just pretty much _schooled_ me at Zombie Apocalypse."

"Aw, come on Finn. I barely won! I'm sure it was pure luck." Blaine said, laughing.

"Honey, there's only one person _I_ know of that's been able to beat Finn at that game since the day he got it," said Carole, grinning widely.

"Who?" asked Blaine, twirling spaghetti between his fork and his spoon. All of the eyes at the table turned to look at Kurt who had just taken a particularly large bight and was attempting to chew and swallow delicately, to no avail. When his mouth was finally no longer full he took one look at the surprised look on Blaine's face and burst out laughing.

"You don't have to act so astounded! I can do things _other than_ dress myself. Besides, once we moved in together we needed something to bond over. And somehow "Family Book Club" with Oprah's favorites never really caught on." The table erupted in chuckles as Blaine looked at Kurt with affection.

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The next day at lunch, Blaine got to the cafeteria before Kurt. Looking around awkwardly, tray in hands, he spotted Brittany sitting at a table by herself, attempting to cut up her chicken with the dull side of a plastic knife. Grinning good-naturedly, Blaine sat next to her and reached over to turn the knife around in her hand. She looked over to where he was sitting on her left, surprised.

"Blaine Warbler. You saved me. I thought I was going to have to eat it like a dog. Like the one in that movie about the dog called Beethoven. What's that movie called?"

"Umm, I think it's called Beethoven, Brittany." He smiled at her. Blaine liked Brittany, she was like a child, meaning harm to no one; smiles, fun, dancing, and sunshine all the time.

"Thank you so much," she said, quite seriously.

"You're very welcome," Blaine said, chuckling to himself. He looked up from his own chicken to see Kurt, Sam, Santana, and Mercedes walking towards him. Kurt plunked his try down next to Blaine's and swung his legs over the plastic bench. "Is that really all you're eating?" Blaine asked, eyeing Kurt's tray, which contained a bowl of lettuce dusted with carrots and a cup of water.

"I have a delicate figure; one that I care to maintain thank you very much," Kurt replied, taking a sip of his water.

"Kurt you're a teenage boy. By definition we can eat literally anything we want and-" Blaine stopped mid-sentence, noticing Kurt's dangerously raising eyebrow and stuffing chicken in his mouth instead. Swallowing he said, "So! What are you guys doing this weekend? Kurt and I are going to Columbus to see Katy Perry tomorrow." The others nodded and smiled with happy remarks. Mercedes looked at him, her smile seemingly too big.

"I don't know. I'll probably hit the salon with Tina. Gotta keep that weave under control, ya know?" She smiled around the table, stopping for just a second too long when her gaze met Sam's.

"Sam?" asked Kurt, pulling the blonde out of his Mercedes-induced fixation before he gave away everything.

"Huh?" he said, blinking fast. "Oh! Um, you know: babysitting, working, that sort of thing." Sam said, eyes still gazing at Mercedes who was looking determinately at her water bottle and blushing furiously. Blaine looked from Sam, to Mercedes, to back to Kurt, who refused to look at him. What were they hiding?

"Well, not that it seems that anyone cares, but Brit and I have a photo shoot for the store windows at Victor's Enigma this weekend; as we have been chosen as the two new Devils for the modeling advertisements as of two weeks ago." Santana and Brittany linked pinkies and grinned at each other. Kurt huffed under his breath.

"Santana, that place is disgusting. Seriously I don't understand how they can so blatantly rip off everything they do from Victoria's Secret and get away with it. Plus, I hear from my sources that their stuff is not quite as durable as they make it out to be, if you know what I mean," Kurt said, mixing the carrots into his salad and looking meaningfully at Santana, who rolled her eyes.

"Do you see me caring, Hummel? If some pervert wants to stare at me in my over-priced, off-brand unmentionables it's ok by me; just as long as I gets my free bra and pjs when it's over." Brittany nodded her head in agreement and Blaine shook his head as he smiled down at his plate. Looking up he saw Sam and Mercedes starring at each other once again before Kurt gave a rather obnoxiously loud cough and they turned away. Yep, something was definitely up with those two.

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"So," said Blaine as he and Kurt settled into his Volvo after school, heading back to Kurt's house where he was staying for the night so that they could make a day trip of Columbus tomorrow, before the concert, "what's new?" he said, starting the engine. Kurt buckled his seat belt and looked at Blaine curiously.

"What do you mean? I saw you three hours ago." Kurt got lotion out of his bag and started applying some to his hands.

"So, there's _nothing_ you want to tell me? No _glee club_ gossip you want to share? No _new couples_ gossip that you might have heard mention of?" Blaine shot glances at Kurt as he drove toward the Hummel-Hudson house. Kurt's hands stopped twisting and he looked at Blaine, who wore a maniacal smirk on his face, wide-eyed.

"Who told you?" he asked, voice deep. Blaine let out a loud 'HA' and pumped his fist. Kurt looked at him questioningly.

"Kurt, no one had to _tell_ me. I know what a love-sick stare looks like, ok? Neither of us mastered the poker face in that department." Blaine grabbed his hand and entwined their fingers, kissing it softly as Kurt smiled at him. "So how long have they been together?" Kurt sighed as he played with the fingers of Blaine's right hand.

"Since sometime between prom and New York. But seriously, Blaine, don't tell anyone. Believe it or not they're trying to keep it somewhat under wraps." Blaine snorted as they pulled into Kurt's driveway.

"Why are they trying to keep it a secret?" Blaine asked as they walked into the house and walked to the living room. Kurt sat down on the couch, crossed his legs, and turned on the TV so that they could watch Oprah together, patting the seat next to him. Blaine took it, swinging his arm around the back of the couch to massage the back of Kurt's neck.

"Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but once two people in glee club become a couple, everything just sort of…falls apart, with that couple. Mostly excluding Mike and Tina, it's happened to pretty much everyone." Kurt's eyes didn't leave the screen as the last few minutes of Ellen passed.

"Oh," Blaine's gaze fell to his knees. "So, do you think that'll happen to us?" He looked up at Kurt's face. It still didn't turn away from the television.

"No," he answered, nonchalantly.

"Really? Why not?" Kurt finally tore his eyes away from the TV to meet Blaine's.

"Because," he sighed, hand cupping Blaine's cheek softly, "we're…different." Blaine smiled and moved his hand to hold Kurt's in place on his cheek; the one on Kurt's neck pulling him closer.

"Special," he whispered, moving even closer to Kurt.

"Perfect," Kurt breathed. And then they were kissing, and Blaine wondered how anything could possibly ruin _this_; what they had. He promised himself that nothing and no one would be able to, if he had anything to say about it.

**A/N – So, anther bit of a transition chapter, but I promise it is going to go places! Eventually. I just saw Glee Live so I might make allusions to it in future chapters! Please review! Tell me what you like and DEFINITELY tell me what you DON'T like! Without construction I will continue to do things wrong and then it will suck and I will be unaware of the suckiness. And that makes everyone sad. THANKS FOR READING! Love explosions for all of you right now. **


	5. The Way You Turn Me On

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. If I did it would be porn :/

The Way You Turn Me On

"Finn, I _swear_, the secret entrance to the underground arsenal is to the left and in the shadows," Blaine said, opening the door of his locker to put away his clothes.

"Dude, I've tried that a hundred times and you're so wrong! It just leads to an elevator shaft!" Finn groaned, sitting down on the bench to tie his cleats.

"The elevator shaft IS the entrance, Finn! You have to fall down it to get to the armory!" Mike said, joining in on their conversation about Zombie Apocalypse. Sam sat on the bench next to Finn, Artie on his left, not looking up from where he was eagerly texting someone on his phone. Blaine was laughing so hard that he accidently let out a loud burp.

"Aw man, 'scuse me fellas," Blaine said covering his mouth before tugging his practice jersey over his head. The other guys stared at him as if he'd just grown a second head. "What?" he asked, confused.

"Dude," said Finn, still staring, "how are you _gay_?" Blaine snorted and looked at the other guys to see their reactions, but they were all stone-faced and bug-eyed. He put his hand on Finn's shoulder and looked at him very seriously, as if he was about to give him a piece of exceptionally grave news.

"Finn. Yesterday," he said, not breaking eye contact, "I made out with your brother. On your couch." The other guys roared with laughter as Finn playfully shoved at Blaine and mussed his hair.

"Well, well, well, won't you look at this. The _Gay_ club got itself another homo. And he thinks he's man enough to join the football team! Why don't you go back to your tap shoes where you belong, Dancing Queen?" Azimio Adams stood at the entrance of their locker aisle, dressed fully in his practice uniform, fists balled. The glee boys moved to surround themselves around Blaine like secret service men, but he pushed them aside so he was still face to face with Azimio.

"Dude, what's your problem with me?" Blaine asked, still putting on his uniform as if Azimio was just another guy.

"What's my problem? I'll tell you my problem!" grumbled Azimio, pointed an angry finger at Blaine. "I don't want you in here, watching us dress and undress; or out on the field, touching some dudes ass every chance you get!" He was almost shouting now, and his finger was wagging. Blaine simply rolled his eyes.

"Look, man, I might be gay, but your ass is still the _last_ thing on this earth I want to be touching." The other guys laughed, and even some of the members of the team let out little coughs of laughter.

"What's going on in here?" a voice called from the door to the field. Karofsky, fully dressed and fuming, stood in the doorway, helmet under his arm, glaring from Azimio to Blaine.

"What's going on? Lance Bass here thinks he can just waltz in and act like one of the guys! I don't want him checkin' out my junk, that's what going on!" Azimio's gaze never left Blaine, who was no longer facing him, but putting the remainder of his things in the locker instead. Karofsky walked up to Azimio and looked him dead in the eye.

"Z, you need to drop it. Capiche?" He looked away from Azimio to speak to the room as a whole. "Coach wanted you all out on the field five minutes ago. Now she's pissed, so if I were you, I would get a move on or we're all going to be doing wind sprints until our feet fall off. Let's go!" The room became abuzz with movement and slamming lockers as the entire team shuffled out of the doors to the field. Azimio continued to glare in Blaine's direction for a moment before stomping out of the locker room. Blaine was the last to finish tying his cleats, and as he made his way toward the door, held open by Karofsky, he stopped.

"Thanks, Dave," he said, looking the jock square in the face. Blaine thought that maybe he understood Karofky's situation moreso than even Kurt. At one time, he had been just as scared and in denial about his sexuality as Dave; just as confused, just as alone. Kurt had never been able to deny it or hide it; and with pretending being out of the option for him, he'd been forced into bravely accepting who he was. Both Blaine and Karofsky had, at one point, been in a sort of identity limbo. Dave, unfortunately, just hadn't made it to the other side yet.

"Don't mention it," grumbled Karofsky as he labored out of the metal doors.

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The next day, Saturday, Kurt walked his abnormally quick walk through the Easton shopping center, arm-in-arm with his boyfriend. Blaine had been complaining throughout the whole second week of school that he was running out of things to wear that were fall appropriate; having only to dress himself on the weekends and summers for the past three years of his life. They were going to see Katy Perry at the end of the day, so a shopping trip to the best mall in Ohio seemed a rational decision.

"What is it with straight guys and their irrational fear of gay men looking at their business?" Kurt said after Blaine finished telling him about football practice the day before; walking into the Express Men, and checking out the nearest rack of cardigans.

"Because they know that if they were ever allowed in a _girl's_ locker room, that's exactly what _they_ would do," said Blaine, picking up a light gray racer jacket with quarter-length sleeves and holding it up for Kurt's approval. Kurt tilted his head to the side and looked at it for a second before nodding.

"I guess that's logical. But it's still," he attempted to lift a pale green sweater from the bottom of the stack and as he did so the pile went tumbling to the floor," frustrating." Blaine laughed and walked over to the puddle of sweaters now surrounding Kurt's feet and together they began cleaning them up.

"I didn't, by the way," said Blaine, not looking at Kurt's face.

"Didn't what?" asked Kurt, folding the sweaters Blaine was handing him into a neat stack once again. When he looked again, Blaine was staring him straight in the eyes, quite serious. "Didn't what, Blaine?"

"Look. At any of their…business. I could have. I had plenty of opportunities. But I didn't. Because I don't want to; and because I will never do that to you. Because I don't want anyone _but_ you." Blaine continued to gaze at Kurt, his eyes seemingly trying to burn holes straight through him. Kurt blushed. He hadn't anticipated this declaration _at all_, _ever_, much less at in the middle of an Ohio mall. He bent down slightly and kissed Blaine softly on the cheek.

"Ditto." It wasn't exceptionally poetic, but it was the truth.

The rest of the day passed relatively normally, except for a particularly embarrassing incident during which Blaine thought he saw the long, curly mane of blonde hair that belonged to Jeremiah through a window at the Easton GAP.

"Blaine! It's not him! Oh my goodness, you're being ridiculous." Kurt gave up trying to get Blaine to enter the store and told him they would meet at the benches across the street from it in half an hour while Kurt shopped for scarves. Ten seconds after Blaine turned away from the doors toward the benches to wait for Kurt, he heard the *whoosh* of the glass door to the GAP flying open and felt his left hand being gripped tightly by Kurt, who was pulling him in the opposite direction of the store.

"Why _on earth_ would he go all the way to Columbus to get a job at _another _GAP? You think the experience of working at the first one would have scared him away for good," Kurt gasped as he and Blaine walked quickly away from the glass doors. Blaine laughed good-naturedly, but secretly thanked God he had decided not to go in in the first place.

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That night, Kurt and Blaine shuffled down their row in section 103 at the Nationwide Arena, buzzing with adrenaline in anticipation for the show to start. As they took their seats Blaine took out his camera and began fiddling with it, experimenting with different settings and flashes by taking numerous pictures of Kurt.

"Blaine, seriously, if it gets any brighter you're going to blind her from all the way back here!" Kurt laughed as he blinked little white spots out of his eyes.

"Ok ok, let me just test the video," Blaine said, pressing a few buttons on the back of the camera before turning it back to Kurt and pressing record. "So, Kurt," he said, like a talk show host greeting a guest, "are you excited to see Ms. Perry _live _and in concert?" Blaine gave Kurt, who was looking at the camera lens instead of at his boyfriend, a toothy grin.

"Well, while I beg you to acknowledge the fact that Katy Perry does not possess the cultural influence or cult following that my Lady Gaga _commands_ I am willing to recognize that her songs are fun and her overall persona, sweet." Kurt smirked into the camera and moved to shift his sweater as Blaine stopped the recording, laughing loudly. Suddenly the lights dimmed and the show began.

A little over an hour later Kurt and Blaine stood in front of their seats, clapping and singing along to Hot 'N' Cold as it finished and the audience erupted into screams and clapping. Moments later they heard the opening chords of Teenage Dream and Kurt's stomach flipped over.

"Aw, I love this song!" shouted Blaine as he began singing along. Kurt didn't respond but instead tried to swallow the lump that had suddenly risen in his throat. Blaine looked over to see why he was being so quiet. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Absolutely nothing," Kurt responded, smiling wide. In just a couple months it would be a year since Kurt had first met Blaine; had first seen the Warblers perform this exact song. Blaine smiled at him, understanding what he must be thinking, and shifted so that he was slightly behind Kurt. He wound both arms around his waist and rested his chin on his shoulder. Kurt held his hands over Blaine's, which were clasped in front of him.

"_You- make- me- feel like I'm livin' a- teen- age- dream,_" Blaine sang softly in his ear, cheek pressed against Kurt's jaw. The rest of the arena was booming with noise, with people screaming along, and the sounds of Katy's band reverberating off of every surface. "This is our song," he whispered. "I was singing it to you the first time too."

"You're being really sappy," Kurt whispered back, smile never leaving his face. Blaine laughed. "But I think it's adorable," he said turning his to face Blaine's, both of them grinning like kids on Christmas morning.

"I think _you're_ adorable," Blaine responded; and they continued to sing quietly to one another.

**A/N—Ok ya'll it's a short one, but it's leading into some pretty important stuffs. Also I really just wanted some good-for-nothing Klaine fluff and really Katy Perry is a boss for that. Review! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!** **Give me suggestions or requests, anything! I have ideas but I want to hear yours too! Love Explosions! xoxo**


	6. Keep Coolly Cool Boy

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. If I did it would be porn :/

Keep Coolly Cool Boy

"Ok, guys!" boomed Mr. Schuster as he bounced into glee club the next Monday afternoon, rubbing his hands together excitedly. "I hope you're ready for one of my _favorite_ glee club assignments! Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the 2nd Annual New Directions DUETS Competition!" The room came to life with squeals of excitement and clapping. "The prize is the same, two gift certificates for a dinner at Breadstix and bragging rights for the rest of the year." Will looked around at his kids who were already pairing off and smiled to himself. He loved this assignment.

"Blaine Warbler, will you be my duet partner?" Brittany was standing directly in front of Blaine, hands twisting and fidgeting in front of her chest, looking at him with her most adorably dim puppy face. Blaine looked up from where he had been shifting through his backpack searching for his iPod with an expression of surprise on his face.

"What? Oh, jeez, Brittany. I'm flattered, really, but- but I'm pretty sure I already have a duet partner." He looked to his right where Kurt sat, arms and legs knotted and tense, giving Brittany what could only be referred to as a death stare. Across the room, Santana was giving Blaine an almost identical look. Brittany's head fell and she looked almost as if she might cry.

"Brittany," snapped Kurt, his tone sharper and more annoyed than he had meant it to be, "why don't you sing with Santana? I bet she has a great idea for a song you two could sing together." His voice had softened but his eyes did not let up from their assault on Brittany. She looked up and over to where Santana sat, still looking in their direction. The latter gave a little wave and beckoned her over.

"You're so right Kurt. Santana's a better singer than you, Blaine. Also, the faces you make when you perform makes you look like a wolf; only it's a wolf in people clothes, which makes me think of Little Red Riding Hood and I get scared cause I think you want to eat my grandma," she murmured in her perpetual monotone. Blaine opened his mouth as she walked away, but Kurt simply patted his knee as if to say 'just don't respond and don't question it'.

"So," Blaine said looking back to Kurt, "I _do_ already have a duet partner, don't I? I didn't just turn down a perfectly good one for nothing, right?" Kurt smiled and patted Blaine's knees once again.

"I suppose I _could_ sing with you…on one small condition, that is," he said, coyly raising his eyebrows at Blaine.

"And that is…?" Blaine was looking back at him with equal smarm.

"I get to pick the song. No questions asked, no complaints." Blaine gave a little 'Ha!' and looked back at Kurt to see if he was serious. He was smiling, but not in a joking way.

"That's quite the condition!" Blaine said, still laughing.

"What's the matter? You don't trust me?" asked Kurt, hand on his chest, feigning offense.

"Ok, ok, you get to pick the song. Just…nothing by Hey Monday. We know how well that turned last time," Blaine said as Kurt giggled beside him in a very un-Kurt like fashion.

"Maybe that's because we didn't practice it enough," he breathed, blushing.

"Oh, I seem to remember plenty of practicing," Blaine hissed as his leaned closer and closer to Kurt, whose cheeks were now bright red, remembering exactly what they had been 'practicing'.

"Ok guys!" exclaimed Mr. Schue, and the two boys jumped apart. "When I call out your name tell me your duet partner and what day you'll be performing."

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"Mercedes, my love, I'm merely suggesting that next time you two go out on a date, you have me over first so that I can review your outfit choice and go over last minute hair corrections!" Kurt and Mercedes were walking arm and arm through the parking lot to Blaine's car so that he could drive them both home.

"Kurt, Sam likes me exactly the way I always look. And he's in no position to judge me by what I wear anyway. Plus, my hair _always_ looks fly. I don't know what you're talkin' about." Mercedes laughed as Kurt tilted his head to the side a smidge so that it was leaning gently against hers. He had missed this- her- so much last year. He looked ahead of him to see Blaine standing behind what must have been his car; Kurt couldn't see it as it was being blocked from his view by a large, black Hummer. Blaine's face was contorted in anger, his eyebrows scrunched together in a knot on his forehead, hands in his pockets. Kurt freed himself from Mercedes and ran up to him.

"Blaine? What's wrong? What happ-" He turned to look at the car and took in a tiny gasp. The normally spotless navy blue Volvo was completely covered in what looked to be whipped cream, over which had been sprinkled a thick coating of glitter. The words 'DANCING QUEEN' had been drawn in the cream on the back windshield and a pair of what could only be tap shoes sat delicately on top of the trunk.

"Who did this?" hissed Kurt, fists balling as Mercedes caught up to them and gasped.

"Kurt, really, it's- it's not a big-"

"Like hell it's not a big deal, Blaine!" Kurt screamed, getting redder and redder in the face. Sam, the fourth member of their carpool party, walked up behind Mercedes and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

"Hey ya'll, what's going o- Oh my god." Sam's eyes widened and his comically large mouth fell open in surprise at the sight of Blaine's iced Volvo. By this point, other members of the New Directions had emerged from the school building after practice and started to notice the gathering of their fellow team members and began walking toward the scene, each one making noises of surprise as he or she got close enough to see what had happened to Blaine's car.

"I'm going to go tell Mr. Schuster," squeaked Rachel.

"I'm coming with you," grumbled Finn. His cheeks were aflame and his eyes were popping with rage.

"What the hell is Mr. Schue gonna do?" barked Santana, hand on hip. "I'm going to Figgins." She and Brittany turned and started strutting towards the principal's office. Artie rolled along beside Brittany, swearing under his breath.

"Screw all of them, like Figgins'll do anything. Puckerman. You, me, Coaches Sylvester and Beiste, right now," Lauren growled, turning towards the school. Puck nodded and let out a sort of grunt before following her.

The rest of them: Blaine, Kurt, Mike, Tina, Quinn, Sam, and Mercedes, stood quietly for a few moments, still looking in disbelief at Blaine's car. Tina was the first to speak. She walked softly over to Blaine and put her hand on his arm.

"Blaine. We're so sorry. Really, if there's anything you need- anything you want us to do…" Her voice trailed off and she just stood there, looking at him as his glare softened.

"Thanks, Tina," he murmured. She kissed him gently on the cheek and walked back to where Mike was standing, fists balled, looking furious.

Moments later, the bright red metal doors of the school burst open and Coach Sylvester came storming out, followed closely by Coach Beiste, Mr. Schuster, Rachel, Finn, Puck, and Lauren. Santana, Brittany, and Artie were behind them, but Principal Figgins was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, Frankie Valli, what exactly happened here?" said Sue, sidling up beside Blaine and putting her hands on her hips.

"Somebody…'whip creamed' my car, coach," Blaine said. As he spoke, a huge smile broke loose on his face and he snorted with laughter.

"Blaine…?" said Kurt, placing a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder and looking him in the face as if to see if he had suddenly become ill. Blaine was doubled over with chuckles at this point, eyes squeezed shut.

"Anderson, what seems to be so funny, son?" Coach Beiste walked up beside him and placed her large rough hand on Blaine's other shoulder.

"Sorry, Coach. It's just-" He laughed a little bit more, wiping tears out of his eyes. "Somebody bought enough whip cream to cover my _entire car_! And then they topped it off with _glitter_! Not to mention, they went to the trouble of getting a pair of perfectly decent tap shoes that they will now never see again!" He outstretched his arms as if to behold the fluffy monstrosity. "It won't even hurt the car! It's- it's- ridiculous!" The others were laughing along with him now; all except Sue.

"Elvis, I'll have you know that the soda jerkers behind this whip creamed cacophony have glittered the tires of one Sue Sylvester, and she will not stand for it," growled Sue, dragging her finger across the tires of the large, black Hummer (_her_ large, black Hummer) and pulled up a fingertip coated in plastic glitter particles. "Little did they suspect that everything within a 50 foot radius of this car is being recorded."

Sue unlocked the car and reached in. Her long arm fished around on the ceiling closest to Blaine's car as the New Directions and Coach Beiste watched, mouths hanging open. Sue gave a yank and they saw in her hand a security camera; much like those used in airports or malls. She looked from Blaine to Kurt.

"Ponyboy, Porcelain, this time tomorrow I will have your perpetrator. I just have to get my tracking device back from my friends on the Seal Team 6." She walked away, and they all stared, open-mouth, watching her go.

"Sometimes," said Coach Beiste, gaze not leaving Sue's back, "I'm sure she's just a cartoon someone brought to life by accident."

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"Blaine?" said a quiet, nasally voice near him. "Do you want us to help you clean it?" Quinn was standing nearby, looking at Blaine with her flawlessly beautiful face and sad eyes. Blaine looked from her to the rest of the team, including Mr. Schue and Coach Beiste. He loved this; this feeling of family that he'd never had with the Warblers. The New Directions were messy and loud, they fought and they could do nasty things to one another, but when it came to the outside attacking one of their own they were ferociously protective.

"Um, yeah. Actually, that would be great." He gave them a warm smile, hoping it conveyed everything he wanted it to. Not a single one backed away, or claimed to be busy, or even groaned.

"Ok guys! I've still got a key to the supplies closet from my stint on the janitorial staff, so let's grab some sponges and some buckets of water and get to scrubbin'!" Mr. Schue and the rest of them began walking back towards the school, but Kurt and Blaine hung back. Kurt slipped his hand into Blaine's as they slowly walked behind the others. He squeezed it gently and Blaine looked at him, smiling a little sadly, before squeezing back.

The rest of the afternoon passed pleasantly. The glee club wiped all the cream from Blaine's car while singing impromptu variations of Car Wash and It's A Hard-Knock Life and attempting to soak one another to the bone. The tap shoes happened to be the perfect size for Rachel; as they had probably been stolen from someone's younger sister. By 5:30pm the car was spotless yet again, and the people washing it were all covered in pruned skin and saggy, damp clothes. All except Kurt, who had somehow managed to stay perfectly dry the entire time. Blaine thanked them all again and climbed into his glistening blue Volvo with Kurt, Sam, and Mercedes.

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Blaine sat, cross-legged, on Kurt's bed in a pair of Finn's old sweat pants that he had cuffed repeatedly at the hem and a t-shirt. When Carole had seen how soaked everyone was she had insisted that Blaine stay for dinner while she washed and dried his clothes. Blaine knew the real reason she asked him to stay was that Finn had told her and Burt about what had happened to his car before he and Kurt had gotten home, but he appreciated the gesture all the more because it.

"So when are you planning on telling me what song we're singing for the duets competition?" Blaine called out to the room in general. Kurt was sitting at his vanity behind the bed, in linen pants and his favorite navy blue housecoat, applying moisturizers to his face where it had gotten too much sun for his liking. He set down the bottle and moved to sit on the bed beside Blaine, his big book of Broadway sheet music in his hand.

"I thought of the perfect one on the way home," he said, flipping the book all the way to the "S" section. Blaine watched curiously as Kurt found the song he was looking for and let the page rest open in front of them. This song Blaine knew. "What do you think?" Kurt asked, looking at Blaine hopefully.

"I think… I think it's perfect." They smiled. Kurt leaned his head to the side that it was resting on Blaine's shoulder.

"You're allowed to be upset about it, you know. Even if was extraordinarily stupid." Kurt ran his index finger up and down Blaine's arm as he spoke, causing the hair there to stand up as goose bumps prickled up all over his body.

"I know," he murmured, catching Kurt's hand with his own and tangling their fingers together. "But I'm not gonna let myself get all worked up about something like that when I have all of you guys to make fun of it with. What's important is that we get the last laugh." He looked at Kurt, smiling, who looked quite serious.

"I love you," said Kurt, not breaking eye contact. "I don't say it enough, but I do." Blaine smile widened.

"I love you too. And I don't think I'll _ever_ be able to say it enough." He leaned forward to kiss Kurt softly and sweetly on the lips before breaking apart. "Maybe we should actually practice this song?" he whispered teasingly into Kurt's ear.

"I think we should do the other kind of practicing…" Kurt purred back, twining his arms around Blaine's neck as the latter let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in.

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That Wednesday was Kurt and Blaine's day to perform their duet and they were both incredibly excited. They had kept it simple when it came to costumes. Kurt wore a light lilac blazer with pale gray tweed trousers and shiny black dress shoes. Blaine wore tight, light-washed jeans, a dark polo, and a neutral-colored letterman jacket with saddle oxfords.

"Alright, fellas! I believe it's your turn. Show us what you got!" cried Mr. Schue, excited as always. The couple walked to the middle of the classroom to face the rest of their team.

"For our duet we've chosen to sing Maria and Tony's Somewhere, from West Side Story; which is, by the way, Blaine's favorite musical." Kurt looked from the class back to Blaine, who was smiling at him with affection. As the music started, the pair clasped hands and looked only at each other, letting the song close around them like a bubble.

Blaine_:  
>There's a place for us,<br>Somewhere a place for us.  
>Peace and quiet and open air<br>Wait for us  
>Somewhere.<em>

Kurt_:  
>There's a time for us,<br>Some day a time for us,  
>Time together with time to spare,<br>Time to look, time to care,  
>Some day!<em>

Blaine_:  
>Somewhere.<br>We'll find a new way of living,_

Kurt_:  
>We'll find a way of forgiving<br>Somewhere . . ._

BOTH_:  
>There's a place for us,<br>A time and place for us.  
>Hold my hand and we're halfway there.<br>Hold my hand and I'll take you there  
>Somehow,<br>Some day,  
>Somewhere.<em>

The room burst into applause; Rachel was crying yet again. Kurt and Blaine continued to stare at each other, smiling and gripping hands tightly. Mr. Schue walked down to the middle of the classroom and patted them both on back, sending them up to their seats.

"Well done! A serious contender! I hope it's encouraged the rest of you to step up your game even more! Ok, tomorrow we have Mercedes and Quinn and Sam and Artie. Friday we'll vote, and announce the winner! You four better be practicing your butts off between now and tomorrow!" He dismissed the club and they all gathered their things and left the room excitedly. Blaine grabbed Kurt's hand as they walked through the empty halls side by side.

"So how do you think we did?" Blaine asked as Kurt swung their hands between them, swinging his hips enthusiastically as he walked.

"Well, between you and me," said Kurt, smiling his sneakiest, most Disney villian-esque smile, "we've got it in the bag."

**A/N – Whooh! Marathon chapter! I really want them to sing this song folks, because I've been in love with WWS since childhood, and it would just make all my wildest dreams come true. The title comes from another WWS song, and all of Sue's nicknames are people with famously greased down hair, just in case you didn't catch on. Also, I realize the chapters may be getting a little **_**darker**_** so Imma try to lighten it up soon! REVIEW! Likes, dislikes, suggestions, anything! Also, if you want a video of the song (and the inspiration for the outfits) here you go: .com/watch?v=-BQMgCy-n6U **


	7. It's Part of My Chemistry

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

It's Part of My Chemistry

"Soooo, are you excited?" Kurt asked as he and Blaine walked down the hallway toward glee rehearsal on the Monday of Blaine's third week at McKinley. They weren't holding hands; Kurt wasn't into PDA as much as he thought he would be. It wasn't the fact that he was afraid of what people would do so much as the fact that he didn't want to share his intimacies with any horn-dog teenager who had eyes. Blaine looked up at him at his question, eyebrows raised in confusion.

"For glee club? I mean, sure, but it kinda feels routine after three weeks…" Blaine shrugged apologetically.

"No, not for glee! For the football game tomorrow! Thomas Ewing High School, our biggest rival; you must be excited!" Kurt nudged Blaine, who blushed.

"I'm actually more excited about the fact that you know the name of our biggest football rival," Blaine said with a tricky grin.

"Yes, well, I do _live_ with the quarterback of our team and _date_ the starting wide receiver, so I was bound to pick up on something."

They walked into the choir room and took their seats. The room was abuzz with gossip and nervous excitement. The winners of the duets competition had yet to be announced, due to the fact that Mercedes and Quinn's adorable rendition of "Be Ok" by Ingrid Michaelson had been pushed from Thursday to Friday.

"Ok, guys! I'm going to pass around slips of paper and this hat and I want you to vote for who _you_ think deserves a free dinner at Breadsitx." As Mr. Schue passed Rachel her piece of paper she immediately began writing down her and Finn's names. Their performance of the Elton John classic "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" had been _spectacular_; their obvious romantic and vocal chemistry on full display. But she had sworn that this year would not be about her; it would be about the team, for real this time. She crossed out what she had already written and wrote in her bubbly, girly handwriting "Kurt and Blaine!" before folding the paper and tossing it into Mr. Schue's hat.

Will walked the hat back to the piano and began counting the votes. As he finished, he sighed to himself. Yet again, it appeared that everyone had voted for his or herself. All, he noticed, except Rachel; he would know that handwriting anywhere. He was proud that his formerly garishly shining star had begun to dim her sparkle to let others in on the glow of the spotlight. He turned back to his class, putting on a big smile.

"And the winner of the 2nd Annual New Directions Duets Competition is…" he drum-rolled on the chair in front of him, "Kurt and Blaine!" The couple looked at each other in surprise.

"This is _mierda_!" Santana cried out from her seat in the back. Brittany rubbed her back and shushed her softly. The rest of the class ignored them as they clapped for Kurt and Blaine. Kurt tapped Blaine softly on the shoulder to tell him to go and receive their prize.

"Thanks so much, guys, this is really cool of you," Blaine said, taking the gift certificates from Mr. Schue and addressing the class. "You were _all_ awesome, and we really appreciate it." He nodded awkwardly and walked back up to his seat beside Kurt, to whom he offered his respective gift certificate.

"No, it's ok, you can hang onto it. I change bags too much, I might end up losing it." Blaine nodded and pocketed their winnings.

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When glee ended at five o'clock, the boys packed up and began walking toward the locker room to get ready for the last football practice before their first game tomorrow. The hallways were completely empty as the rest of the team was already inside. Kurt and Blaine walked beside each other humming "Somewhere" softly to themselves, still excited over their win.

"It was the perfect song," Blaine murmured to Kurt, leaning their shoulders together.

"Yes, yes it was," Kurt hummed, almost to himself. He looked over at Blaine on his left, who was giving him the same smile he had given him last year at Regionals, when he had told him he was adorable. He stopped walking in the middle of the deserted hallway, grabbing Blaine's wrist, pulling him to a halt as well.

"Kurt? What is it? What's wrong?" But before he could ask any more questions Kurt had yanked him into a small alcove in front of an empty classroom. Kurt smiled at the expression on Blaine's face and placed both hands on opposite sides of Blaine's neck before leaning down and kissing him vigorously. Blaine let out a surprised grunt before sighing heavily out of his nose, both of his hands on the small of Kurt's back. Kurt shifted so even more of their bodies were touching and Blaine felt the former's tongue enter his mouth before, as suddenly as it had begun, their fun was over. Kurt's tongue was yanked from his mouth and the skin where his hands had been on Blaine's neck prickled at the loss.

Blaine groaned, smiled, and opened his eyes to look up at Kurt, who was looking at the hallway, eyes wide. Blaine turned his head to see where he was looking. Karofsky stood there, in the middle of the hall, watching them with his eyebrows knotted together and his face red. He looked as if he was caught somewhere between embarrassment and unhinging rage; it looked almost like hurt.

"Dave-" Kurt started but Karofsky interrupted him. Kurt's cheeks were bright red and his hands were at his sides, nowhere close to Blaine.

"Practice, five minutes Anderson," he grumbled, shifting his glare from where it had been, on Kurt, to Blaine, who nodded. Karofsky slammed into the locker room and Kurt and Blaine turned back to look at each other.

"_That_ was uncomfortable," said Blaine as he helped Kurt press out the wrinkles he had left by gripping the back of his shirt.

"Yes, incredibly," muttered Kurt, still not meeting Blaine's eyes.

"Something wrong?" Blaine asked, grabbing one of Kurt's hands so that he would stop pretending to press out nonexistent crinkles. Kurt looked like he was about to cry as he looked at Blaine, but in the quickest of split seconds his expression turned to a smile and he squeezed the hand Blaine was holding.

"Of course not!" He led Blaine out in front of the locker room doors and smiled again. "Go on, you're already late. Gotta get as much practice in as you can before tomorrow!" Kurt smiled wider and wiggled his eyebrows while lifting and swirling his fists in tiny circles. Blaine gave a soft laugh. He knew Kurt was doing his best to act excited when he literally couldn't care less about football the same way Blaine had sat through editing session after editing session of "Pip Pip Hooray" that passed summer. Things like that are just the things you do for the one you love. He kissed Kurt chastely on the cheek.

"Talk to you later?" he asked, still not letting go of his hand. Kurt nodded and watched as Blaine slipped quietly into the locker room.

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"Thanks for the ride, dude," said Sam as he and Blaine walked to his car after practice. "Finn said he was gonna take me but he seemed to forget in his hurry to go "study" with Rachel." He drew air quotes around the word study and laughed to himself.

"No problem, man. Gives us time to bond, right?" Blaine flashed his always-genuine smile and they hopped into the car. "So how's it going with you and Mercedes? Is that still very hush hush?" Sam sighed and he suddenly sounded very tired.

"Yeah. I mean, it was her idea and I can totally see why she thinks it's necessary but it's just kind of a bummer you know? For the first time since I came to this school I'm with a girl who likes me for who I really am, impressions and all, and a there's a grand total of three people I can talk about it with. And _you_ probably hear everything from Mercedes via Kurt anyway, pillow talk and all that." Blaine snorted and swerved a bit at the last part of Sam's sentence.

"Sam, I assure you, just because Mercedes might share everything with Kurt does _not_ mean that he in turn shares it with me." Sam nodded and squirmed in his seat the slightest bit.

"Well, I guess that's probably good," he murmured before looking straight at Blaine's profile. "But if you _did _hear something about me, from her, through him, you would tell me right? Cause you're my friend?" Sam seemed very confused by his own questions; but then again, Sam always seemed a little confused.

"What exactly do you think I'm hearing, Sam?" Blaine asked. Sam sighed again and ran his hand through his still slightly sweaty, blonde hair.

"I don't know, just-"He put both hands in his lap and stared at them. "I feel bad that I can't take her out on a _real_ date! I mean, she comes over to the hotel all the time and we hang out but my brother and sister are always there, not to mention my parents. I can't take her out to dinner, or coffee, or even a movie! We just end up walking through the park or singing along with the bluegrass singer that lives two rooms down. And that's fun! It's…whatever, but she's just so- so- _awesome_ and I want to be able to be the boyfriend that I know she's always wanted." His words tumbled out extremely fast and Blaine did his best to follow along as he pulled into the parking lot of the motel Sam and his family lived him. He put the car into park and turned to look at Sam, who was still starring at his hands.

"Look man, I'm no expert, by any means," said Blaine shaking his head. "But I think that if you're with the right person it doesn't really matter _what_ you do as long as you're doing it together." He focused on Sam's face, which still looked incredibly crestfallen; sadness was always accentuated by his puckered mouth. "But I understand about wanting to treat her like a princess, trust me, I do." Sam looked up at him with a sad smile. "That's why I want you to have these." Blaine reached into his wallet and pulled out the two gift certificates for Breadstix.

"Aw, no man I- I can't take those! You two won, fair and square." Sam was shaking his head and not looking into Blaine's eyes. Blaine chuckled and shoved them towards Sam.

"Look, we might have won, but I voted for you. And Kurt voted for Mercedes. We can't take these." Sam's eyes widened and he let out a loud laugh. "What?" asked Blaine.

"It's just-"Sam steadied his laughter to look at Blaine, "Mercedes and I both voted for you two!" Blaine smiled and patted Sam appreciatively on the shoulder.

"Sam. Kurt and I both want you to have these. You deserve them. And you and Mercedes both deserve a legitimate date; not some awkward Prom dinner with Rachel and Jazz Hands St. Smarm. So just take them, ok?" He held out the certificates and Sam stared at them for a minute before pocketing them. Then, before Blaine could really register what was happening, Sam's arms were around his neck in an awkward, over the gear shift, hug.

"Thanks man," Sam grunted into Blaine's shoulder as the latter patted him on the back in a brotherly sort of fashion. They pulled apart and Sam opened the door and stepped out of the car.

"What are friends for?" Sam smiled at Blaine's sentiment and held out his fist, which Blaine wordlessly tapped. Sam turned and walked toward his room looking considerably happier than he had when he had left it that morning.

**A/N – Oh shat folks, another transition chapter. But don't worry, cause I've just thought of some totally awesome things to include so I'm about to go on a spree. (It includes Karofsky, so I'm sorry if that displeases some of you, but his character is so freaking fascinating.) Who else totally wants a Blaine/Sam bromance next season! I DO! Review if you want, but this is sort of a filler chapter, I'm aware. LOVE EXPLOSIONS FOR ALL YOU. **

**PS- Thomas Ewing High School is something I made up. If it happens to be a real school, and you attend it, I apologize. **

**PPS- Bonus points if you can tell me where the title comes from, cause it's also a bit of foreshadowing. Woah! Big, tricky writer word there. **


	8. Everybody Loves a Winner

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

Everybody Loves a Winner

Kurt shuffled into the bleachers that Tuesday night alongside the girls from glee club. Burt and Carole sat a few rows down with Scott, Diane, and Molly Anderson; Blaine's father, mother, and twenty year old sister. The seats were packed; everyone had come out for the big game against Thomas Ewing High. In typical Ohio fashion, the weather was cold even in the first week of September, and Kurt had happily snuggled his way into one of his favorite red and gray scarves to give the appearance of school spirit.

As he and the ladies settled into their spots he heard the blaring of the McKinley High marching band and the crowd erupted into cheers. The Cheerios were next on the field, flipping and chanting, waving their pompoms and rear ends in time with the fight song. Two of the girls on the team carried a large banner bearing the word "TITANS" and held it in front of the entrance to the boys locker room where all the spectators could see it.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, let's hear it for the WILLIAM MCKINLEY HIGH SCHOOL TITANS!" the announcer shouted and the team burst through the banner, led by Finn and Puck. Kurt searched the group for Blaine and saw him between Sam and Mike, who was pushing Artie's wheelchair. Kurt smiled when he saw how excited Blaine looked, smiling ear to ear, cheeks tinged red from adrenaline and cold.

"And now, all the way from Maysfield, please welcome the THOMAS EWING HIGH SCHOOL WARHORSES!" There was a great deal of booing that drowned out the squeaky high voices of the pathetic Ewing High cheerleading squad. The Warhorses trotted onto the field clad in their garish blue and orange uniforms.

Kurt's focus returned to Blaine who was doing jumping jacks on the sidelines. As he walked to the table to get a glass of Gatorade he looked up to the bleachers and found his family. He smiled, giving them a little wave before beginning his scan of the student section for Kurt. The latter saw Blaine looking for him and jumped up in the air and waved his arms in the air for a split second to get his attention. When he saw Blaine's gaze on him at last he held both hands over his chest, over his heart, as if to signify "I love you" and "Be safe", and gave a quick nod. Blaine smiled, nodded back, and winked before turning back to his team. Kurt let out a deep breath.

"Here we go…" he whispered to himself. Rachel, hearing him, grabbed his left hand as Mercedes grabbed his right, and squeezed.

A coin was flipped and the ball went to McKinley. The team lined up, and Kurt saw Blaine squat down in his position on the opposite side of the field from the stands. He watched as Finn hiked the ball, and the scene on the field erupted into chaos.

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It was nearing the end of the game. McKinley and Ewing were tied 34 – 34 and the Titans had the ball once again. There were fifteen seconds left on the clock and thirty yards to cover to make a touchdown.

"Ok, fellas, here's what's gonna go down," growled Coach Beiste as they stood on the sidelines taking their final time out. "Hudson," she said, looking to Finn, "as soon as possible, throw the ball as far as you physically can." She turned next to Azimio. "Adams, I want you to make sure no Warhorse comes _anywhere near_ that ball or the person that's catching it, got it?" Azimio nodded, looking determined. "Anderson," she said turning to look at Blaine, "_you_ are the one that's going to catch it. Catch it and run as fast as you possibly can to the end zone. Don't look back, don't think about who might be close to you, just _run._" Blaine's eyes widened and he swallowed hard before nodding furiously.

"You got it, coach!" he said loudly. Beiste clapped him on the shoulder as she spoke to the entire team.

"Let's bring it in!" The players gathered in a circle, shoulder to shoulder. Blaine looked around the circle and his eyes stopped on Azimio. He looked furious, eyes glaring at Coach Beiste and veins popping out of his forehead and neck. Blaine's gaze shifted to Karofsky beside him, who was watching Azimio with his eyes squinted in uncertainty, like he didn't trust him. "Titans on three. One, two, three, TITANS!" All their hands clapped as they scattered apart, heading to their positions on the field.

"Oh my god. Oh my god, oh my god, OH MY GOD!" he yelled as he watched Blaine and the others take to the field.

"Kurt! What's wrong?" yelled Mercedes at Kurt's outburst. "Nothing's even happened yet!"

"I'm just really into it now!" Kurt yelled back. He jumped up and down, screaming and clapping as Mercedes and Rachel watched him, laughing.

Blaine's heart was beating a million times per second as he took what seemed like the incredibly long walk to his spot on the field. He squatted down and listened to Finn call out the numbers. Just as he heard the unmistakable sounds of "HIKE" he spotted an opening exactly where he knew he needed to run. Taking it he sprinted as fast as his little legs would carry him ten yards, twenty yards, before looking over his shoulder to see the ball flying like a bullet straight into his open arms. Catching it while still running, he heard an earth-shattering *WHAM* to his left, but seeing no one ahead of him, he ran at breakneck speed into the end zone.

The crowd exploded, jumping up and down, screaming like maniacs as the final buzzer rang out. Blaine looked up into the crowd and saw his family; his parents, clapping enthusiastically as his sister jumped up and down, roaring with excitement. His eyes found Kurt, who was flailing up and down in front of his seat, arms waving, face red. He turned to look at the field, where his teammates were rushing towards him, beaming and whooping with victory. But then he saw him, lying flat on the ground at 15 yard line, Coach Beiste at his side. David Karofsky.

So that's what the *wham* noise had been. Karofsky, who was the tackle on the _opposite_ side of the field as Blaine had somehow found his way across the field to block an _enormous _outside linebacker on a mission to crush Blaine. But that had not been his job. It had been Azimio's. Blaine looked into the crowd of football players running towards him, but Azimio was not among them. He looked to the sidelines just in time to see his throw his helmet onto the bench and slam through the locker room doors.

"What the hell is he doing?" Kurt yelled at no one in particular. Before the rest of the team could run to Blaine and lift him up on their shoulders he had dropped the ball and was running towards the 15 yard line. It was then that Kurt noticed that Karofsky had not moved from where he had fallen after tackling the giant who had been heading for Blaine right before he scored. "Dave!" he gasped to himself. Mr. Karofsky was sprinting across the field to his son. Blaine, Coach Beiste, and the medic were already kneeling at his side.

"What's wrong? Is he hurt? Will he be ok? Why are his eyes closed?" barked Mr. Karofsky to the medic.

"Mr. Karofsky, it seems your son has suffered a broken collar bone and passed out from the pain. We're going to take him to a hospital as soon as we can get an ambulance onto the field," said the medic in a call, strictly business, fashion.

"Come on, Anderson," murmured Beiste as the ambulance pulled up beside them. The crowd had quieted now, watching Karofsky being strapped onto a gurney and loaded into the back of the vehicle with his father. Coach Beiste grabbed Sue's megaphone and turned to address the spectators, Blaine still at her side.

"Folks, I just want you all to know that David Karofsky is going to be fine." Baited breaths and mutterings were released in the stands above them. "He's got a broken collar bone and just passed out from the pain, but he'll be good again in no time. On that note, let's hear for the man of the hour, the Titan's newest starting addition, BLAINE ANDERSON!" She grabbed Blaine's wrist and hoisted it into the air as the crowd erupted into cheers again.

Up in the stands Kurt felt a wave of relief wash over him and he beamed with pride as everyone in the bleachers went nuts for Blaine. 'Always a crowd pleaser,' he thought to himself.

8888888

Blaine walked slowly down the third floor hallway of the hospital early that Wednesday morning after the game the night before, caring the football Coach Beiste had given him as a token of his first win. He had stopped in to see Karofsky before school that day, but for some reason he felt excruciatingly nervous as he walked into his room and saw him lying in a hospital bed, sling holding left arm close to his chest. As their eyes met, Karofsky's face hardened. They were alone in the room.

"Hey," said Blaine as he stood in the doorway awkwardly.

"Hey."

"Can I come in?" Blaine asked, taking a tentative step through the doorframe. Karofsky nodded grudgingly and tossed a thumb to the chair sitting beside his bed. Blaine sat in it. "So. How do you feel?"

"Like the sun is shining out my ass," Karofsky snorted, his voice dripping with angry irony. "How do you _think_ I feel?" Blaine shook his head, his eye sad and drooping.

"I didn't come here to fight with you, Dave," he said, looking down at the football clutched in his hands and then back up at Karofsky. "I- I came here to thank you. That guy, that _beast_, would have crushed me if it wasn't for you." Karofsky looked at him, eyebrow raised in question.

"Look, I was just doing what Coach told me to do, ok?"

"No," said Blaine, his brow furrowing. "No, you weren't. You were doing what Coach told _Azimio_ to do. You were all the way on the opposite side of the field, Dave!" Karofsky squeezed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose as Blaine stared at him.

"I accept your 'thank-you', but if that's all you have to say I could really use some sleep."

"No! That's not all I have to say!" Blaine said, standing and running a hand over his crisply gelled curls. "Why? Why would you do that? It's not like we're friends! In fact, from all I can tell, you hate me! And, I'll be frank, I don't effing understand why! All I've ever been is decent to you; I've tried to be understanding and supportive and gracious, and all you've ever responded to that with is angst and abhorrence. So, David, all I want to know is _why_?" Blaine still standing, fists balled at his sides.

"You really want to know why I saved you?" Karofsky barked back, loudly.

"Yes! Yes, I really do!"

"Because I knew Z wasn't going to! I saw the way he looked at Coach when she told him it was his job to block you. I knew he wasn't going to do it. So I did." He shrugged his good shoulder. Blaine didn't let up on his gaze. Something still didn't add up.

"But why do it at all? Why not let him crush me?"

"Because you make him happy!" Karofsky slammed his free hand on the bed as he said it, glaring at Blaine, face beet red. Blaine starred back, still processing what he just heard, eyes wide.

"Because- I make-"

"Kurt. You make him happy."

Blaine realized after a few seconds of silence that his mouth was open and he closed it promptly. "I didn't know you cared about him that much," he practically whispered. Karofsky held his forehead in his good hand and scrunched up his face, making him look as if he was trying not to cry. He let out a long, whimpering sigh and when he spoke his voice cracked.

"He deserves happiness after all the hell I've put him through. And if it comes from being with you…so be it."

"Dave," Blaine said, placing a hand gently on his good shoulder, "he doesn't resent you for _anything_. He knows that you're struggling. He wants to help you." He took a deep breath and squeezed his hold on Karofsky's shoulder. "We both do." He stayed in the same position for a few minutes as Karofsky took one deep, shuddering breath after another. "You're not alone, Dave."

He walked towards the door before he remembered what he was holding in his other hand and walked back towards Karofsky, placing the football beside him on the bed.

"You deserve it. Ten times more than I do." With that he walked out the door, Karofsky staring at the football as he left.

**A/N – Uh oh folks, it's getting deep up in here! Sorry if you're a football fan and this is totally unrealistic, I really tried to teach myself everything I thought I needed to know and actually consulted a bunch of different sources to make sure I was getting things right. Ugh, continuity and realism is hard, no wonder Ryan Murphy gives up on it so easily! I for one hope Karofsky sees some redemption next season and this is my way of interpreting it. I promise it's going to get lighter now! Review! Tell me what you want/like/dislike, everything! ** **LOVE EXPLOSIONS! **


	9. Sugar, Sugar

*I wanted this to be as close to something that would actually happen on the show as possible. Tell me if I even came CLOSE.

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

Sugar, Sugar 

"He said that?" Kurt asked, cracking an egg into a large mixing bowl, eyes not leaving Blaine, who was sitting at the counter drinking his coffee and watching Kurt.

"Yep. He said that you deserved happiness. And I told him that you didn't resent him for anything and that we want to help him. Which we do, right?" Kurt nodded, looking down at his batter instead of at Blaine. "What's wrong?" Kurt lowered the head of the mixer but didn't start it yet. He took a deep breath and looked up at Blaine.

"It's just…I _do_ resent him, Blaine. Just a little." Kurt sighed and Blaine looked at him questioningly. "Scared or not, confused or not, he tortured me. He assaulted me, frightened me, and threatened to kill me. And I probably could've put all that aside if he hadn't-"Kurt looked down again, red rising to his cheeks and eyes glassing over.

"If he hadn't what?"

"If he hadn't tried to hurt _you_. I know he never actually did, but when he went after you…it touched a nerve." Kurt blushed furiously and turned around to the sink to hide his face. Blaine smiled, a warm feeling spreading all over his body. He stood up from his stool and walked directly behind Kurt, massaging his shoulders gently for a few moments before guiding him to turn back around so that they could speak face to face. Blaine moved his hands to Kurt's hips; Kurt put his hands over top of Blaine's.

"I was never worried. You were always there to defend my honor. Well, you and Santana." Kurt hummed in laughter, but the smile did not meet his eyes. "He's going through a really hard situation. And we should know because we both went through the exact same thing. He's just…he's not as strong as you are, Kurt. And I know he can't take back what he's done, but I honestly think that he wants to try and make up for it." Kurt let out a sigh and leaned his forehead against Blaine's.

"I know. And I _do_ want to help him, honest," Kurt whispered. He couldn't see it, but Blaine was smiling in front of him.

"Me too." Kurt opened his eyes and retracted his head just enough so that he could look at Blaine's face. They leaned in, lips meeting gently. Kurt moved his hands from where they were sitting on top of Blaine's and cupped his face instead. Just as his tongue was about to enter Blaine's mouth to deepen their kiss, they heard the familiar slamming of the front door and broke apart. Kurt ran back to the mixer as Blaine stood at the sink, his hands suddenly resting on nothing, looking bemused. He laughed, walking back to his stood as the sound of clomping steps approached them.

"Hey dude, what a surprise to see you here," Finn said sarcastically. Blaine seemed to be at the Hummel-Hudson house almost as often as he was.

"Blaine is helping me make cookies for the glee club bake sale," Kurt said to Finn with as much attitude as he could physically put into it without sounding rude. Finn glanced from where Kurt stood in front of the mixer, poking at the insides of the bowl with a spatula, to where Blaine sat, sipping coffee and offering no visible help whatsoever. Finn raised an eyebrow. Blaine looked at him and shrugged.

"Moral support," he murmured. Finn shook his head.

"Whatever. Save me the broken ones," he said, walking back toward the steps. Kurt turned to Blaine, carrying the mixing bowl full of dough a cookie sheet with him, and rolled his eyes.

"Unbelievable. Like I've ever broken one when I've made cookies for him in the past. Honestly." Kurt handed Blaine a spoon while taking one himself and showed him how to make the perfect size and formation of a ball of cookie dough.

"Oh, so I'm allowed to help now?" Blaine questioned playfully. Kurt grabbed one of the left over chocolate chips and launched it at Blaine, who, on the spur of the moment, made a spectacular catch of it in his mouth. "I wouldn't do that if I were you. I play way dirtier than you," snarled Blaine, grinning wickedly and reaching for the bag of flour. Kurt was too busy making dough balls to notice. Blaine slipped his hand into the bag slowly and noiselessly, grabbed a large pinch of flour, and flung it straight at Kurt. Seeing the latter's face, he exploded with laughter.

Kurt froze; face scrunched up and covered in flour. Slowly he opened his eyes and reached up to his hair, touching it tentatively, and brought his hand back down to see it was also coated in white powder. He looked absolutely horrified, causing Blaine's laughter to simmer down to quiet chuckles.

"I warned you," he laughed. "Aw, come here, it's not that bad," said Blaine, walking around the edge of the counter and holding out his arms to Kurt who stood perfectly still.

"There is flour. In my hair. Flour. In. My hair." Blaine's laughter had stopped, but he was still having trouble taming his enormous smile.

"I'm sorry I got flour in your hair," he said, twining his arms around Kurt's waist from where he stood on his left side, kissing his neck softly. "Forgive me?" Kurt turned his head to look at Blaine, starring at him blankly for a moment before capturing his lips in a deep kiss, wiping Blaine's mind of all other thoughts. And also, unfortunately, dulling his reflexes. Kurt reached beside him on the counter, eyes still closed, to grab an egg out the carton. Before Blaine had time to even register what was happening, Kurt had detached himself from the kiss and smashed an egg on top of Blaine's head.

Blaine blinked several times, his grip on reality coming back slowly, egg dripping down his face. Kurt was holding onto the counter to support himself he was laughing so hard.

"Oh- Oh my god," he gasped in between laughs, clutching his stomach. "I have to hand it to Jesse St. James; that is _ridiculously_ entertaining! Oh Blaine, you should see your face!" He doubled over with laughter yet again as Blaine looked at him, face displaying shock and fulfillment at getting Kurt to smile again.

"Oh jeez, you got me. You so got me," Blaine laughed, walking behind Kurt- who had turned back around to make more dough balls- to the sink to start cleaning the egg at least enough so that it didn't drip into his eyes.

"You can take a shower if you need to," Kurt said, still with his back to Blaine. "I don't want the eggs to have some sort of reaction with the gel causing all of your hair to fall out." Kurt snickered to himself, unaware of the figure standing inches away from him, weapon of choice held firmly in his hand.

"I just might take you up on that. And while I'm up there, maybe I'll try my hand at your moisturizing routine," Blaine said, grinning to himself, sparkle in his eye. Kurt stopped balling cookie dough and dropped his spoon, turning swiftly on his heal.

"Oh, I don't think s-"And then he felt it; slimy and warm, gliding all over his face as he sucked in a breath and scrunched his eyes close. Butter.

"What's wrong, Kurt?" Blaine asked, mockingly, as he pulled back, throwing the sliver of remaining butter in the garbage. "I thought you _wanted_ your skin to be smooth. Smooth, like _butter_." His lips were right up against Kurt's jaw, and he kissed it, drawing back and licking them with a Cheshire cat smile. Kurt watched him, pupils dilating and heart picking up pace. The smile fell from Blaine's face as he starred back. And then his mouth was on Kurt's, and everything smelled like sugar and butter and coconut shampoo, and it was heavenly.

"We should really bake more often," Blaine groaned into Kurt's mouth.

"Definitely," Kurt breathed back.

**A/N – Hahaha, I hope y'all weren't expecting serious plot development after all this time! Ok ok ok, I know this scenario has been done to DEATH but I just wanted to write something completely fluffy and fun before I plunge back into the heat. This may be a little out of character in places and I'm sorry, but I want them to make out. I really do. Ryan Murphy, please, take pity on me! Review! REVIEW! More soon! **

**p.s. – Check out the future fic I'm working on, ****Of the Fathers****, for some teenage Hummel-Anderson children/father interaction! WOOHOO! **


	10. Your Red Eye Sees No Blame

*This is starting to get less and less like an actual episode of Glee and more and more like fanfiction but I like it so I don't really mind! I hope you like it too!

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

Your Red Eye Sees No Blame

"Rachel, are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, Kurt and I might be the only ones who remember your last party, and frankly I'm pretty sure we both wish we didn't," said Finn before glee rehearsal started on Thursday. The class sat in their usual pairs, except for Rachel, who was standing in front of them. Mr. Schuester was late yet again, probably discussing the finer points of his next assignment with Ms. Pillsbury.

"On the contrary, Finn, I think another party is a _stupendous_ idea. I found the one last year to be liberating and invigorating. The pleasure of spending time with people I enjoy the company of was only exemplified by the notion that we were simultaneously rebelling in a stereotypically teenage fashion. All in all, an exhilarating experience." Rachel looked up at them hopefully, smiling her 'pleased with herself' and 'about to get her way' smile. Kurt rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath about getting _too_ exhilarated for his taste and Blaine smiled guiltily, squeezing Kurt's knee.

"Well, I'm in. As long as I'm in charge of booze," said Puckerman, shrugging, knowing no one was going to disagree with him. The rest of the club, excluding Kurt and Finn, nodded and mumbled in agreement. Rachel beamed.

"So it's decided; party at my house starting at 8pm tomorrow night. My dad's are flying to Chicago to see my cousin on her opening night of The Vagina Monologues and therefore won't be home until Monday. Anyone wishing to stay at my house until Saturday may feel free to do so as long as they promise not to use my cats as neck pillows again." She glared at Santana, who could've cared less.

"Whatevs, House Elf, Mr. Ronfeen had never been that lucky in all nine of his lives," Santana hissed, rolling her eyes as Brittany nodded beside her.

"Mr. _Arnstein_. Named after Fanny Brice's hopelessly confused romantic interest in Funny Gi- you know what? Never mind. It's not important." Rachel closed her eyes and sighed as she went back to her seat beside Finn.

"So, are we going?" Blaine asked, leaning in closer to Kurt, who crossed his arms lazily, not meeting Blaine's eyes. "I promise it- I promise _I_- won't get out of hand like last time. Come on, it'll be nice to unwind a little." Kurt sighed, still not looking at Blaine. "You don't have to drink if you don't want to, Kurt."

"I know that," Kurt said, finally looking at Blaine. "Let's go. But I swear, Blaine, if you even _look_ at Rachel too friendly…" Blaine let out a loud laugh and slung his arm around the back of Kurt's chair, leaning in to kiss his temple.

8888888

By 9 o'clock that Friday the party was in full swing. Rachel and Mercedes were up on stage, clinging to each other as they sang what sounded like every song from the Dreamgirls soundtrack. Kurt sat on Blaine's lap in a large armchair as they watched Finn, Mike, Tina, and sometimes Brittany attempt to play a horribly messy game of Twister overseen by Sam, who was sober and the designated driver. Artie sat in the middle of the room, singing along with the girls, occasionally interrupted by Brittany sitting on his lap and kissing his neck. Puck and Lauren stood near a corner with Quinn and appeared to be teaching her some easy-to-use wrestling techniques she could use for self-defense. Santana had not yet arrived.

Except for Kurt, Blaine, and Sam, everyone was in their normal state of embarrassing drunkenness. Kurt had had a couple wine coolers and felt a lightness in his head that seemed to make everything easier and funnier, but other than that he felt quite fine. Blaine was on his third Bud Light with Lime and seemed to have reached a happy medium between polite, private schoolboy Blaine and stupid, drunk off his ass Blaine that Kurt, in his buzzed stated, quite enjoyed. They snuggled in the chair, kissing, nuzzling, and occasionally laughing hysterically at the game of Twister falling apart beside them. Kurt leaned down and kissed Blaine for the hundredth time, slow and deep, before pulling them apart and moving his lips to his neck where went to work on a hickey. Blaine let out a little groan in the bottom of his throat as Kurt finished, rubbing his thumb over it, admiring his handiwork.

"There," he said, stilling looking fixedly at the hickey. "That should fend off all the Rachels." Kurt giggled at his own joke as Blaine let out a laugh that was entirely too loud to be normal and wrapped the arm that wasn't holding his beer tighter around Kurt's waist.

"Samuel!" screeched Tina from where she was fixed in a pretzel-like position underneath Finn and Mike, "get your head back in the game!" Sam wrenched his gaze away from where it had been glued to Mercedes singing "Cadillac Car" to look down at the Twister spinner in his hands with a questioning stare, like he wondered how and why it had gotten there. Blaine burst into a fit of giggles before burying his head in Kurt's chest to muffle them.

"He likes her sooooooo much. I see the way he watches her sometimes and I think he looks crazy. And then I remember that I like you a million times more than anyone has ever liked anyone EVER so I must give you even _crazier_ looks. Do I give you crazy looks, Kurt?" Kurt chuckled and put a finger to his own lips.

"Shhhh, Blaine! They're trying to keep it a secret!" They both seemed to find this incredibly hilarious and collapsed into each other, vibrating with silent laughter. Kurt looked up when he heard Brittany squeal with delight and saw her run towards Santana where she stood at the bottom of the stairs, tossing her jacket over her shoulder to Karofsky, who attempted to catch it with his right hand, his left still held to his chest by a sling. Kurt's whole body stiffened.

"I didn't know he was coming," Kurt murmured, his tone blank and suddenly very somber. Blaine searched his face to clues as to how he really felt, but saw none.

"Is it going to be a problem?" Blaine asked. "If it is, we could probably find a comfortable spot upstairs…alone…" Blaine nuzzled into Kurt's neck as the latter hummed with appreciation.

"No, no, let's stay down here. However," he said, extricating himself from Blaine's lap a little haphazardly, "I am going to need some more Jesus juice now."

88888888

By 9:30 both Kurt and Blaine were thoroughly more drunk then they had been a half hour before and were dancing around sloppily with the rest of the club. Sam and Karofsky were the only sober ones, standing on the outskirts of the drunken mosh pit; Sam watching with a fond smile, Karofsky with a stubborn frown. As the next song finished everyone seemed to slump onto the floor or each other, momentarily exhausted.

"Blaine! Come here! We're singing a song." Kurt said, grabbing Blaine's hand and pulling him up from where he lay with his head in Quinn's lap. The pair stumbled on stage as the song Kurt had picked started over the speakers. As Blaine recognized it he gasped and pumped his fists into the air with excitement.

"Kurt! I _LOVE_ THIS SONG!" Blaine practically yelled as Kurt laughed at him. As the intro went on Kurt's face went back into character, emotional and serious, and he grabbed the mic and caressed it lovingly. Blaine attempted to do the same, but accidently poked himself in the eye when he got to close.

"This song," Kurt muttered into the microphone, holding it incredibly close to his mouth, "is called "I Finally Found Someone". And it's beautiful like Blaine so I'm gonna sing it with him. Ok. Blaine, you're gonna sing the, uh, the Bryan Adams part and I- I'm gonna sing the Barbra part." There were several whoops and cat-calls from their audience and Blaine nodded in acknowledgement as Kurt began to sing.

_I finally found someone  
>That knocks me off my feet<br>I finally found the one  
>That makes me feel complete<br>It started over coffee  
>We started out as friends<br>It's funny how from simple things  
>The best things begin<em>

_This time is different  
>And it's all because of you<br>It's better than it's ever been  
>'Cause we can talk it though<br>My favorite line was  
>"Can I call you sometime"<br>It's all you had to say  
>To take my breath away<em>

_This is it, oh I finally found someone  
>Someone to share my life<br>I finally found the one  
>To be with every night<br>'Cause whatever I do  
>It's just got to be you<br>My life has just begun  
>I finally found someone<em>

_Did I keep you waiting? I didn't mind  
>I apologize, baby that's fine<br>I would wait forever just to know you were mine_

_You know I love your hair  
>Are you sure it looks right?<br>I love what you wear  
>Isn't it too tight?<br>You're exceptional  
>I can't wait for the rest of my life<em>

_This is it, oh I finally found someone  
>Someone to share my life<br>I finally found the one  
>To be with every night<br>'Cause whatever I do  
>It's just got to be you<br>My life has just begun  
>I finally found someone<br>And whatever I do  
>It's just got to be you<br>My life has just begun  
>I finally found someone<em>

As they sang to each other Kurt made attempts to look out into the audience to see their reactions while Blaine sang his lines. Most everyone was swaying or, in Rachel's case, singing along softly. However, when Kurt's eyes found Karofsky leaning against a wall far away from the rest of the group, he noticed that he was not swaying or singing along or showing any emotion whatsoever. His gaze was fixed on Kurt, never moving to look at where Santana sat with Brittany in her lap or even shifting to look at Blaine. They stayed on Kurt the entire time.

As the song ended, Kurt and Blaine stood center stage, grasping hands. Kurt suddenly felt very drained and when Santana stood up, demanding that it was her turn for a duet with Frodo, Kurt gave up the microphone without a fight and sagged to the floor behind everyone else. As the opening chords of "Great Balls of Fire" started over the speakers, Kurt turned his head to see Karofsky walking up the stairs. Looking back at the stage he saw Blaine pretending to play the piano like Jerry Lewis, and before he had really thought about what he was doing, Kurt stood up and made to follow Karofsky up the stairs, thinking Blaine wasn't likely to miss him. When they had reached the kitchen at the top of the stairs, Karofsky turned around to face him.

"Can I help you with something?" He seemed angry, and his being so instantly made Kurt angry, for reasons beyond his control.

"Why were you staring at me?" He asked, poking Karofsky in the chest with his finger and getting dangerously close to him. The former backed away slightly at the poke.

"You were singing, I thought I was supposed to look at you," he growled, blank façade falling piece by piece.

"Not like that," Kurt said, shaking his head for exaggeration. "You were looking at me like- like you were plotting something. Like you were making a p-plan. Are you going to kidnap me? Don't, please!" Kurt could feel tears creeping up, ready to fall, and he held his hands over his face in embarrassment. Something deep inside him was yelling at him; 'Why are you crying? You're being stupid.' Kurt tried to step away from Karofsky but as he moved his foot he stumbled and prepared himself to fall to the floor.

But he didn't hit the floor. A strong arm, sealed within a red letterman jacket had reached out at the last moment and had caught him mid drop, tugging him back up so that their chests were pressed together. His face was inches from Karofsky's, whose arm was still wrapped around him and whose eyes were excruciatingly wide. Kurt's mind was suddenly quite blank.

"You made my life hell." It was a statement, not a question, and Karofsky didn't look away but instead just barely nodded his head. "You hurt me. You threatened to kill me. And you almost hurt Blaine." He nodded again, a little more noticeably, the stricken look in his face slowly fading to grief. "But then you saved him." No reaction. Kurt softened his eyes and his voice. "Thank you." And then, all of a sudden, Karofsky's lips were on his, uninvited, for the second time. Kurt, shocked, made a noise of surprise that Karofsky mistook as encouragement, and he began trying to deepen the kiss and pulling him tighter against his chest. Before he could realize was he was doing, Kurt- caught off guard and incredibly drunk- began kissing him back.

They broke apart when they heard the glass break on the kitchen floor. Kurt, suddenly not being held up, caught himself on the counter and looked around for where the noise had come from. As he saw where, his stomach sank and instantly he felt as if he was going to be sick.

"Blaine!" Kurt said, his voice too high and breathy. Blaine didn't look at Kurt but stood in the doorway to the stairs, broken beer bottle smashed on the tile floor, starring at Karofsky like he'd physically just punched him in the gut. Karofsky swallowed hard once and then turned without saying a word and walked out the front door. Kurt could hear his engine start and the car drive away, but his eyes never left Blaine. Finally the latter turned his gaze on Kurt, but didn't say anything.

As Blaine's eyes bore into him, Kurt didn't feel drunk at all. He felt hot, almost sufficatingly so, but his mind was focused as everything that had just happened began to make sense to him.

"Oh my god. Oh my god Blaine, I'm so sorry," Kurt said, reaching his arms out to Blaine. But he simply took a few steps away from him, disbelief still etched on his face. He looked towards the front door.

"I need to get out of here," Blaine murmured under his breath and moved towards the door.

"No! No, Blaine, stop! Let me explain, please." Kurt ran to Blaine, grabbing at his hand from behind, but Blaine just kept walking. With a few well-navigated steps Kurt got himself in front of Blaine, bringing him to a halt. When Kurt saw his face, he realized Blaine was crying and he held that wonderful face in his hands, wiping at the tears. "It didn't mean anything! I didn't know what was happening. One second I was mad at him and the next I'm thanking him for saving you and then he's kissing me and I didn't know what to do so-"

"So you kissed him back," Blaine stated, his eyes cold and red.

"What?" Kurt was confused.

"You didn't know what to do when some guy, who _isn't _your boyfriend, starts kissing you. Even though the last time he kissed you was basically a mild sexual assault! You didn't know what to do, so your first reaction was to kiss him back." Blaine looked furious, and his voice was breaking on every word from where he was trying so hard not to cry. Kurt opened and closed his mouth a few times but words seemed incapable of coming out.

"I- No! It's not like that! Blaine, please. Blaine, stop!" But Blaine had broken free of Kurt's hold on his jaw and was walking towards the front door.

"I just need some space. Just give me some space, Kurt," he muttered as he walked out the door. Kurt didn't follow him but watched Blaine made his way to his car. He didn't have his keys, Sam had made sure to take all of them, but the car was unlocked, so he climbed in the driver's seat and just sat there for a moment, looking as if he'd just had the wind repeated knocked out of him. Kurt watched as something in Blaine snapped and he began banging repeatedly on the steering wheel, heaving and sobbing hysterically. After a few seconds, Kurt decided he couldn't watch anymore, and he sunk into a chair at the kitchen table and began to cry himself.

He heard the heavy footsteps on the stairs only moments before he felt the hand on his shoulder.

"Kurt?" said Sam, taking the seat beside him, hand not leaving his shoulder. "What happened? Where's Karofsky? Where's Blaine?" Kurt let out a few more dry sobs before turning to look at Sam.

"David Karofsky is gone. He drove away." Kurt's mind sputtered; something didn't make sense. "Why did he have his keys?" Kurt choked out.

"He wasn't drinking so I said he could keep them," Sam said, rubbing what appeared to be comforting circles on Kurt's back.

"He wasn't drinking?" Kurt asked, looking stunned. "Not at all?" Sam shook his head as Kurt burst into another round of sobs.

"Kurt, where's Blaine? What happened? Why are you so upset?"

"B-Blaine is out in his car, hating me. And he should hate me! How could I do that? Why was I so stupid? I love him…I love him…I love him…" Kurt kept whispering 'I love him' to himself as Sam patted him on the back. After a while, Sam left Kurt to mutter to himself and walked to the front door so he could see the car. The Blaine sat, in his perfect navy Volvo, his arms folded on top of the steering wheel, head face down on top of them. His back rose and fell dramatically and staggeredly as Sam watched him from the front porch.

Blaine jumped and whipped his head up as he heard the door to his car open, but relaxed and leaned back in the seat, taking deep breaths, as Sam climbed in on the passenger's side. He didn't say a word and his silence left Blaine only to think some more, and tears quickly began falling again. His sobs were angry as he drew them in and whenever he let them out they were accompanied by a choked yell. Sam, startled, moved to grab his shoulder, and at the touch, Blaine flung himself into Sam's arms, knocked the breath out of him. He gripped fists of Sam's shirt and let out dry, angry heaves. Realizing he was obviously still quite drunk, Sam held Blaine to his chest and swayed him slightly awkwardly over the gear shift. When his breathing had returned to normal, the two split apart and Blaine sat in the driver's seat, running his hands repeatedly through his hair.

"Why would he do that?" Blaine moaned quietly. "Why would he do that? He knows I love him. He said he loved me too. Why would he _do_ that?"

"What did he do, Blaine?" Sam asked, quietly, watched as Blaine's face screwed up in what looked like rage.

He didn't care anymore. Screw Karofsky and his privacy, screw his coming out on his own time, screw it all!

"Karofsky kissed Kurt. And Kurt kissed him back," Blaine growled through his teeth, not looking at Sam.

"Wait. _What_?" Sam's large mouth was open and his eyes were expanding.

"David Karofsky…" Blaine said, taking a breath, "is gay."

**A/N – Well damn son! That looks like storyline development to me! Careful guys, I just entered onto a dangerous plot arch, are you ready to take this leap with me? I sure do hope so! REVIEW! Tell me what you think! Without reviews I feel very lost and alone. And sad :( **

**P.S. – The song was a random one I found when searching for duets for them to sing. I think the lyrics are just PERFECT, not to mention the fact that one of the parts in done my Babs. **

**LOVE EXPLOSIONS FOR YOU! **


	11. You Would Never Break the Chain

*This is starting to get less and less like an actual episode of Glee and more and more like fanfiction but I like it so I don't really mind! I hope you like it too!

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

You Would Never Break the Chain

"He's _what_?" asked Sam, incredulously. Blaine stared through the windshield at the front window into the living room, his eyes angry.

"He's gay." Blaine suddenly felt very sick, like if he didn't say what he wanted to say the words were just going to shoot out of him. His brain was swimming, angry tears still falling even though he was no longer aware of them. "And he has feelings for Kurt and that's why he was always attacking him; because he didn't understand. And then he kissed him in November and then threatened to kill him if he told anyone but I already knew. So Kurt left." Blaine said all of this very fast, not looking away from that front window, and Sam's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"Should you really be telling me this?" Sam asked quietly.

"I don't care!" Blaine yelled. "I don't care anymore! If he doesn't want to be out then maybe he shouldn't be making out with other people's boyfriends." Blaine looked down, grasping the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger, furrowing his brow.

"Dude," said Sam, placing a hand on Blaine's shoulder. "Kurt's drunk, you're drunk. I think you just need some sleep and you'll be ready to tackle this much better when you're both clear-headed again." Blaine did not look up at him. "Why don't you come inside and you can go to sleep?" Blaine shook his head.

"I can't go back in there."

"Well I would drive you home, but I have to stay here to keep an eye on everyone for at least a few more hours."

"I'll just stay out here then," said Blaine as he fumbled his way in the back seat.

"Come on, man, it's cold outside," Sam moaned, as he watched Blaine curl up in a ball on the back seat, pulling his jacket tighter around him.

"Goodnight, Sam," Blaine said through his collar. Sam sighed and exited the car.

As he walked back into the house he looked into the living room. It was dark and would have been almost impossible to see clearly from where Blaine sat in the driver's seat. Kurt sat on the couch opposite the window; legs uncrossed, feet flat on the floor, arms hugging himself. He did not look away from Blaine's car even when Sam entered the room.

"How is he?" Kurt whispered, still not looking away from the car.

"He's upset. The alcohol isn't helping," Sam sighed, taking a few more steps towards Kurt. "He's getting some sleep, and I suggest you do the same." Kurt still wasn't looking in his direction.

"It didn't mean anything," he croaked. Sam walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder before gently pressing him down until he was horizontal on the couch. Kurt closed his eyes as he began crying again. "Do you think he'll forgive me, Sam?" Sam tugged a blanket off the back of the couch and placed it gently on top of Kurt.

"Yeah," he whispered as Kurt drifted to sleep. "Even if he doesn't want to."

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The next morning Kurt woke up to the garish light of the sun streaming in through Rachel's living room window, causing his head to feel like it was ready to split in two. He heard groggy voices and sizzling coming from the kitchen, and moved to sit up from where he lay comfortably on the couch very, _very_, slowly. When he had moved into a sitting position, he glanced out the window, only to see an empty spot where last night there had been a navy Volvo. His heart sank. So it hadn't just been a nightmare after all.

Kurt walked slowly to the kitchen, holding his ears as the voices and sizzling got louder. The entire glee club was either sitting at the counter or around the kitchen table, moaning to each other and sipping coffee out of random glassware since there weren't enough mugs. Sam stood at the stove making what looked like breakfast for a small army. Or Finn.

"I didn't know you were still here," Finn said as Kurt took a seat beside him at the counter. "I thought Blaine must have taken you home when he left. Where is he anyway?" Kurt didn't have time to answer before Sam jumped in.

"He left before any of you were up. Said something about playing golf?"

"He's going to play golf with his dad and sister at the Club. It's Molly's birthday." Kurt remembered Blaine telling him about it. He'd taken Kurt shopping with him for her present, a beautiful silver necklace bearing a pendent of the Anderson family crest; very classy, and Kurt's idea.

"Have some coffee, dude." Kurt grabbed the plastic Disney princess cup of hot coffee Finn had handed to him and took several large swigs without putting in a single drop of cream or sugar. When he was done he turned back to Finn who was eyeing the vegan egg-substitute Sam was attempting to scramble, warily. The smell was making Kurt sick to his stomach and he leaned closer to Finn so that only he could hear what he was about to say.

"If you take me home _right now_ I'll make you pancakes with bacon cooked _inside_ them."

"And eggs that actually came from chickens?" Finn whispered back, still eyeing the non-eggs.

"Practically ripped from their loins."

"Deal." Finn hoped out of his seat to kiss Rachel goodbye as Kurt grabbed the keys from Sam, and they were out the door and on their way home before anyone else had even noticed.

As Finn drove home, disregarding the speed limit to some extent, Kurt attempted to charge his phone in Finn's car charger. He double and triple checked his texts and voicemail, but nothing from Blaine appeared. When they got home, both boys took two large Aspirin as Finn started another pot of coffee and Kurt went to work on bacon pancakes. Finn left to take a shower soon after Kurt snapped at him for getting too close to the food smelling like a homeless man at a fish market in July. He kept his phone nearby as he cooked, checking it too often. By the time he and Finn had finished their meal and Kurt had left his brother to do the cleaning up, his phone was still yet to ring.

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"So, on a scale of one to ten, how excited were you that Dad couldn't come golfing with us today?" Molly said, smiling as she watched Blaine line up his shot. She pulled her curly black hair into a pony tail and rubbed some more sunscreen onto her mildly tan skin.

"About as excited as I was when neither he nor Mom was home to realize I came home hung-over and in the same clothes I left in. So…fifteen?" Blaine straightened up from where he had been squatting in the grass for a better view of his angle and smiled at his sister. He tapped his ball gently and it rolled directly into the hole. Molly gave a soft golf clap, and Blaine mocked her with a tiny bow.

"I still beat your ass by a lot," Molly said, walking up to Blaine and linking her arm in his as they made their way to the cart.

"Good to know some things never change." Blaine was being exceptionally quiet, something Molly hadn't failed to notice. Usually she could blame it on the presence of their father, but when it was just the two of them it was strange for him to not be talking her ear off.

"So are you gonna tell me what's wrong, B, or just be pissy for the rest of the day?" Molly leaned against Blaine's shoulder as he drove towards the main Club house but he didn't answer. "Is it Kurt?" She saw the blood rise to Blaine's cheeks as she said it and knew she'd hit the nail on the head. "What happened?"

"I really don't think you'd understand." Blaine huffed. Molly leaned away from him and crossed her arms.

"You're probably right," she snapped. "Even though _I'm_ the one that's already survived all four years of high school, not you. And the one that's had _multiple_ boyfriends, not you. AND I'm pretty sure that _I'm_ the one getting sex on a weekly basis, not you." She turned her head to give Blaine a withering stare so much like Kurt's, it made his mind go fuzzy for a brief moment.

"Fine…" Blaine sighed in resignation and delved into the story of the Rachel Berry House Party Train Wreck Extravaganza: Part Two. She listened attentively; gasping and swearing in appropriate places but never once interrupting him. When he'd finished the story they simply sat in silence in the cart for a few moments before Molly spoke.

"Have you talked to him since?" she asked.

"No. I left this morning before he woke up. I'm still not sure how I feel." Blaine ran a hand through his hair.

"Are you going to break up with him?" Molly looked at him very concerned. Blaine looked taken aback.

"I hadn't thought about it. Would you, if you were in my position?" He looked at her like a lost puppy. She shrugged.

"I think you really need to talk to him first. From the way it sounds you were both pretty drunk; and no offense, but you can be pretty stupid when you're drunk, little brother. And I've seen the way you two _are_ together, and it's not worth giving up without a fight." She squeezed Blaine's arm and when he turned to look at her she was giving him a sad smile. He sighed heavily, holding his head in his hand.

"I'm such a fool for that boy. I just _know_ the second he opens his mouth or starts to cry or even just looks at me with those eyes I'm going to want to forgive him for everything. Before I even know what 'everything' means." Blaine groaned as his sister rubbed his back softly.

"You make it sound like such a bad thing, when I'm pretty sure he'd do exactly the same thing for you." Molly laughed as Blaine moaned again and held him, both arms wrapped around his shoulders, rocking him awkwardly since he was so much broader than herself. "And because of that I'm gonna go ahead and bet that he is ten times more miserable than you are right now." Blaine didn't respond. "Let's go home," she whispered. "Mom and Dad won't be back until late, they have a dinner at the Governor's mansion. We'll veg out in front of the TV watching the Real Housewives of New Jersey and eating ice cream straight out of the carton. Sound good?" Blaine didn't answer her but instead pulled himself out of her grasp only to wrap her in his own, and kissed her hard on the cheek.

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Kurt sat on his bed, freshly showered, in yoga pants and a t-shirt of Blaine's, staring at his phone. He had given up on waiting for it to ring, and was now involved in a serious internal battle debating whether it would be too soon to call him himself. He was so preoccupied with his internal conflict that he didn't even have the stamina to put together a real outfit, or the effort to care about it. All that mattered was that Blaine was somewhere, probably at the golf course, thinking Kurt didn't care about him, thinking Kurt didn't _love_ him.

After that thought had rattled through him a couple hundred times, he picked up his phone and dialed Blaine's number. It went straight to voicemail. His phone was off. Well that just wouldn't do. Kurt had gotten it into his head that he needed to talk to Blaine, needed to explain himself to Blaine, and if he couldn't do it via cell phone, then dammit, he would do it in person.

Kurt slipped into a pair of soft moccasins he only ever wore around the house and grabbed his keys. Downstairs, he left note on the fridge telling Finn where he was going, and ran to his car, breathing heavily without really knowing why.

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As Molly drove them home from the Club, she noticed Blaine was being extra quiet again.

"What are you thinking about now?" she asked.

"I can't break up with him." Blaine said, matter-of-factly.

"Well, hopefully you won't have to."

"No, I mean, I can't. Even if I should, even if he _is_ in love with Karofsky or…anything like that, I couldn't do it." Blaine shook his head in what looked to be embarrassment. "He'd have to be the one to do it." Molly looked at him, sadly.

"I never knew what people meant when they said 'hopelessly in love' but I think that must be it, B." Blaine groaned. "Look, cheating is not ok. But you owe it to him to hear his side of the story."

"I know. I-" Blaine's voice stopped in his throat as they pulled into the Anderson driveway. Parked there was a large, black Navigator; and sitting on the porch, was Kurt Hummel. Blaine stared at him as he tried to calm his own thoughts. He looked disheveled in an incredibly non-Kurt way; he was wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt and- were those _moccasins_?

"Remember," Blaine heard Molly say as she sat in park, "hear what he has to say before you do _anything_. Ok?" She was staring at the side of Blaine's face, his eyes still focused ahead at Kurt on the porch. He nodded. Molly got out of the car and walked in through the garage so as not to have to pass Kurt. Blaine extricated himself from the car slowly, and took careful steps until he was standing directly in front of Kurt, who had stood up.

"I need to talk to you," Kurt said, his voice hoarse and high-pitched.

"I'm listening," Blaine said, trying his hardest to make it sound soft as opposed to bitchy.

"Well, to start off, I just want you to know that I love you, and that I hate myself for hurting you more than I've ever hated anyone for anything." Kurt didn't look away from Blaine's face. Blaine, on the other hand, was fighting to keep his straight, as a knot was building steadily in his throat. Kurt sighed. "It started when we sang that duet. I saw just standing there in the back, _staring_ at me, and for stupid reason I felt like I had to confront him about it. So I followed him upstairs." Kurt swallowed very hard but still did not look away from Blaine.

"And then I just remember being scared, and thinking I was about to fall, but I didn't, because he caught me." Blaine let out a huff and ground his teeth. "I was angry at him, and I reminded him of all the horrible stuff he did to me last year." Blaine ground his teeth some more. "But then I remembered him saving you and- and I thanked him. And then he kissed me." Kurt choked on the last word and finally lowered his gaze from Blaine to look at his hands, knotting nervously in front of him. "And there's no excuse because I _did_ kiss him back, but I don't remember it, I just remember not wanting to fight him, and he was crushing my lungs he was holding me so tight and it felt wrong but I just let it happen." He was talking through a stream of tears now and Blaine was fight tooth and nail to hold his in.

"And then you were _there_ and I hated him again. And I hate myself more because you deserve so much better and I should never have done that to you." Kurt took a few shaky breaths. "Because you're _it_, Blaine. And I was stupid and I was drunk and I'm so, so, so, SO sorry."

It was then that Blaine realized- the kiss had meant nothing. Yet again Karofsky had forced himself onto Kurt, the only difference this time was that Kurt had been too drunk to push him off. Kurt wouldn't cheat on him. Kurt _loved_ him. After trapping himself in his own brain for a few moments, Blaine came-to, and realized that Kurt was still rambling on with his apology. He looked up but didn't stop when Blaine took the few steps to stand directly in front of him, making the distance between mere inches. He did stop, however, when he felt Blaine's lips crash onto his own, Blaine's hand cradling his face, Blaine's warm breath sending shivers down his spine. Kurt responded enthusiastically, and they stood there like that for a few moments before the need for air became apparent.

"So do you forgive me, then?" Kurt asked, his voice still shaky, and his face genuinely worried. Blaine laughed and rested their foreheads together.

"I think I forgave you the second I saw you wearing moccasins outside your house," Blaine whispered, his thumbs rubbing along Kurt's cheekbones. Kurt let out a watery laugh.

"Honestly, you're lucky I have on shoes at all. I was so anxious to get here I would've put on Finn's clown shoes if they'd been the closest thing to my bed." They laughed together.

"Let's never go to one of Rachel's parties ever again," Blaine groaned, his voice deep. "They always seem to be more trouble then they're worth."

"Agreed," Kurt moaned. He wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck and went in for another kiss.

**A/N – I got so many messages worrying about Klaine in the last chapter I couldn't let it stew for very long. Rest assured I have not thrown Karofsky under the bus, he definitely has good AND bad in him that I want to come through. (Remember, the world isn't split into good people and Death Eaters.) Of course I couldn't keep them unhappy for long; I'm not Ryan Murphy for Pete's sake! This is getting a lot longer than I had envisioned but I just enjoy writing it so darn much. Review! Tell me what you think so far! LOVE EXPLOSIONS! **


	12. Similar Features

*This is starting to get less and less like an actual episode of Glee and more and more like fanfiction but I like it so I don't really mind! I hope you like it too!

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

Similar Features

It was a normal Wednesday the day Blaine sat in the library alone, trying to remember the finer points of the chapter of The Scarlet Letter that he had just read, and absorbed none of. At least, it was a normal Wednesday until he found himself no longer alone, but it the company of Santana Lopez. He looked up at the novel, confused, for a few moments as she made herself comfortable in the chair directly across the small table he was sitting at.

"Umm, hello?" Blaine stared at her, still very confused.

"Hey there, Bilbo." Santana did not look at him but instead focused all of her attention on her fingernails.

"Can I- Do you need something?"

"Actually," Santana sighed, "yes." Her face softened as she let out a breath and looked directly into Blaine's face. He set down his book, suddenly very invested in whatever she needed. "I was wondering if we could…talk." Blaine raised his eyebrow.

"I'm really sorry, Santana, but I'm actually quite happy with Kurt. Not to mention, you get a little too much in the chest area to be of any real interest to m-"

"Ugh, Anderson! Puh-lease. Like anyone would be stupid enough to think you'd even open the door for anyone but Hummel. No, that's not what I want to talk about." Blaine blushed at her allusion to his whipped-ness and looked down at the table. "I need to talk to you about…Dave." Blaine's head shot up.

"What about him?" Blaine growled. He wasn't completely over Karofsky taking advantage of Kurt for the second time, and wasn't ready to be sympathetic towards his "girlfriend troubles" any time soon.

"Don't pretend like you don't know," Santana whispered, eyebrows twisted angrily.

"Pretend I don't know what?"

"That he's _gay_." She hissed the last word like she was angry at Blaine for making her say it out loud, which she probably was. Blaine looked at her with a blank stare.

"Wait," he breathed, "you _know_?" He looked at her stone serious face. "You _knew_ and you still went out with him? But…but…why?" Santana glared at him for a few moments, not speaking, before she finally relaxed.

"Because we're both trying to keep the same secret." She looked up at him, straight in the eyes, to make sure he understood. They shared a gaze for a moment before Blaine gave a short nod.

"You want to go get some coffee after school? Finish…talking?" he asked, softly. She nodded as her faced reddened, and before he could get in another word, she was up and leaving, wiping furiously at her cheeks.

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They sat on a bench outside the Lima Bean together after school, drinking their coffee and talking; Blaine with medium drip and Santana with classic black.

"So, Kenickie, tell me. When did you know?" She look a long gulp from her steaming mug as Blaine tentatively blew on his.

"That I was gay?" She nodded. "I was probably ten years old. My best friend Keri had a boyfriend- or whatever they're considered when you're ten- and I got all jealous. And I thought, at first, that it was because I liked Keri but um, it…wasn't." Blaine smiled sheepishly up at Santana as she let out a cackle. When she finally settled down Blaine spoke again. "What about you?" She stiffened in her seat and stared into the contents of her cup.

"I'm still not sure. That's why I'm asking you." She grew quiet again and Blaine watched her for a few seconds before voicing what he had suspected for awhile now.

"It's Brittany, isn't it?" he asked softly. Her eyes widened and she looked at Blaine without panic etched all over her face.

"Who- How- What makes you say that?" Santana finally managed to spit out. She looked furious.

"Just a feeling I guess. And the way you look at her sometimes. Kurt used to look at me that way all the time, before we got together. But don't worry," he said quickly as he saw her getting progressively more and more freaked out. "I don't think anyone else has figured it out."

"I love her," Santana whispered, picking at the styrofoam of her cup.

"Does she know?" He said it gently, but she automatically stiffened and looked angry.

"Yeah."

"…And?"

"And she blew me off. For Vanilla Crushed Ice. But she's my best friend, and I can't lose her. I- I barely know what or who I am, much less what she wants or who she is, but I know I love her. Does that even make sense?" She looked at him, almost desperate.

"Of course it does," Blaine said, placing a hand on her knee. She raised one eyebrow dangerously high and glowered at him before he released it, looking embarrassed. "Ok, so we're not at that point in the friendship yet. Message received." She hummed a laugh to herself before they went quiet again.

"Look, it's not like I'm gonna be waltzing around in a pant suit singing Melissa Etheridge tomorrow, but over the summer I…experimented." She looked at Blaine with a coy grin.

"And what exactly were your results?" He waited until she was midway through her next swig of coffee before asking his next question. "Chicks or dicks?" He barked with laughter as Santana did a perfect spit take at an innocent squirrel bystander not four feet away. She joined him in laughing as the poor squirrel ran back to his tree, probably sporting semi-serious burns.

"Between you and me, I picks the chicks e'rry day of the week. I never want to see another dick ever again." They both leaned back on the bench, watching other squirrels as they sipped what was left of their coffee.

"Suit yourself," Blaine chided. "Leaves more for me, I guess." And with that, whatever was left of Santana's coffee promptly attempted its escape through her nose.

**A/N – This is just a little thing I wrote to ease into new plot arcs around the last one. I really want a Blaine/Santana friendship! More to come soon I hope! Review and tell me what you like, don't like, are looking forward to, whatever! **

**Ps – Title is a Melissa Etheridge song, but that's not super relevant to the story at all. **

**LOVE EXPLOSIONS!**


	13. Hold You For a Million Years

*This is starting to get less and less like an actual episode of Glee and more and more like fanfiction but I like it so I don't really mind! I hope you like it too!

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

Hold You For a Million Years

"Look, Santana, I'm flattered that you asked me to go shopping with you, but honestly Kurt is much better at this sort of thing than I am," Blaine said as he followed Santana around racks of clothes at H&M. She didn't look up from the rack of miniskirts she was looking through when she spoke.

"Have you seen the kind of things your Snow White calls an outfit? No thanks you. He'd probably try and convince me to wear one of his fox tails." She clicked her tongue in impatience.

"Hey, I like the tails," Blaine murmured, smiling and walking over to another rack of skirts.

"Oh, I've no doubt." Blaine almost dropped the leather mini he had picked up. "The reason I asked _you _to come is because… "She didn't look at him when she said it. "You are one of the few people who I don't want to brand with a hot poker every time they speak. Plus, you're totes head over heels for Lady Face, who is generally even a bigger bitch than I am; therefore your tolerance must be incredibly high." He blinked at her for a few moments but she did not look up.

"Kurt's not bitchy," Blaine said, rather weakly. She glanced at him, left eyebrow arched high above the right. "Well, not to me, anyway." She nodded and they shopped in silence for a few more minutes. "So, what did you want to talk about?" She let out a heavy sigh and placed a hand on her hip.

"God! Maybe I just wanted to hang out with you and take you shopping, ever think of that? Maybe I wanted your fashion advice! Or are you _that_ bad of a gay that you can't even help me dress myself?" She clicked her tongue again and Blaine gaped at her.

"I- I didn't realize we were that close." Santana turned to look at him, slightly exasperatedly.

"Look, Anderson. You're part of the New Directions family now, ok? It's quite the twisted little unit and while I realize we all love each other, we don't all _like_ each other. We all have our significant others, our enemies, our competition. What I need is an ally. And I've picked you." He looked at her confused and she swore under her breath. "I'm tough, you're soft; I'm loud, you keep to yourself; I'm mean to everyone, you're mean to no one. We're the perfect character foil." His expression did not change from confusion, and Santana seemed to deflate before his very eyes. "I need someone in my corner. I need someone I can talk to; someone who I haven't alienated, and someone I don't have feelings for. I need a real _friend_."

She turned away from him to hide her face and started filing through a rack of leather vests. After a few seconds she saw his hand rest on top of hers and pull it down, where he squeezed it gently. He then dropped her hand so as to wind his arm around her shoulders and pull her towards him. In a very un-Santana like fashion, she leaned her head down to rest on his shoulder and hummed in appreciation. He turned and kissed the top of her head before leaning his cheek against it.

"Don't get the yellow," he whispered. "Kurt would kill me if he knew I let you get the yellow." They collapsed into a fit of giggles as she punched him playfully, but hard, in the arm.

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Kurt looked up from where he sat against the headboard of his bed to look at Blaine who was cross-legged on his vanity bench.

"And she's totally ok with you telling me this?" Kurt asked, still disbelieving. Blaine shrugged.

"I told her that if it came down to it, I wasn't going to lie to you, but I didn't want to out her either. I pretty much just made her see that it would be easier if you knew. That you could even help, maybe." He gave Kurt a guilty look as he practically whispered the last part.

"Help? Santana?" Kurt's eyebrow was raised and was reaching dangerous levels of 'bitch please'.

"I know, I know. She may not seem like the kind that needs our help but, think about it, Kurt. If it wasn't for her, you might never have felt safe to come back to McKinley." Kurt's head dropped in embarrassment. "Her best friend, with whom she's in love, is struggling with her sexuality! You know _exactly _how that feels." Blaine rose from his seat on the bench and went to sit directly in front of Kurt instead, grabbing both his hands. "She needs friends, Kurt. She feels like she's totally alone."

Kurt lifted his gaze so that he and Blaine were eye to eye before leaning in just slightly and joining their lips in a gentle peck. His hands snaked out of Blaine's and found their way to either side of his jaw, holding him firmly in place as Kurt deepened the kiss. After a few moments he pulled apart to look at Blaine, but did not release his face from his hands.

"Why do you always have to be so nice to everyone? What were you, Mother Theresa in another life?" Kurt murmured at his leaning in for another, shorter kiss. Blaine chuckled.

"You have no idea how itchy a habit can be. The blazer and tie felt like lounge-wear."

"Ok, I'm over the joke now. Back to the kissing," Kurt breathed, pulling Blaine flush against his chest.

"Mm, agreed," Blaine choked out before talking became impossible yet again.

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A couple days later, on Friday, Blaine and Kurt sat twisted together on the couch watching The Notebook on Lifetime, alone. Finn and Rachel had been with them, but as soon as Burt and Carol had left for game night at a friend's, the couple had practically flown up to Finn's rat nest of a room and locked the door. Neither Blaine nor Kurt particularly minded; Rachel liked to add her own commentary and Finn was the stereotypical dude when it came to chick flicks. And while The Notebook was so sugary sweet it made both of them gag, Blaine shamelessly admitted that it usually made him cry, and Kurt was determined to see if that was true.

As the movie wound down to its final moments, Blaine felt the knot in his throat tighten as Noah clung to Allie, and their souls departed the world together. He made the mistake of giving a loud sniffle and Kurt turned around to look at him, smiling.

"Shut up," Blaine said thickly, smiling and wiping at his eyes to catch any tears threatening to fall. Kurt gave a cocky laugh to himself and set to change the channel. When Blaine regained his composure he relaxed into Kurt in their semi-spooning position and kissed the back of his neck softly. Kurt hummed in gratitude.

"That's gonna be us one day," Blaine breathed, just barely above a whisper. Both he and Kurt were falling asleep fast, but he was awake enough to feel Kurt squirm and stiffen underneath him.

"Oh?" Kurt squeaked. Blaine could hear the discomfort in his tone.

"Yeah," Blaine said, trying his best to sound nonchalant. "Don't tell me you've never thought about the future." Kurt remained silent.

Of course he'd thought about it. He'd thought about what song he wanted to sing in glee next week, what SAT scores he needed to get into NYU, what kind of furniture would look best is his and Blaine's dorm room. In short, he thought about New York, about _getting_ to New York. Just the possibility of that seemed so alien and so extreme that he hadn't bothered to think much further ahead. But evidently, Blaine had. Blaine had their whole future planned out, right down to the moment they died in each others' arms at some witheringly old age.

"Y-Yeah of course I have," Kurt sputtered, trying to keep an essence of calm in his voice, and failing. Blaine sat up and Kurt's back was suddenly very cold.

"Oh my god. I'm such an idiot," Blaine murmured as he extricated himself from the couch.

"What? What are you talking about? Where are you going?" Kurt watched as Blaine flew around the room, putting on shoes and layers of clothing as he went.

"I should have known. I kissed you first, I asked you out first, I said _I love you_ first." Blaine was mumbling to himself as he walked. Kurt watched him with an incredulous look on his face.

"What _are_ you talking about?" he asked, still thoroughly confused as to why they were no longer spooning on the couch.

"Look, Kurt, if I was moving too fast or freaking you out or coming on too strong all you had to do was tell me," Blaine stated, finally slowing down long enough to look Kurt in the eyes, his face stony and set.

"What? No! No, it's not like that it's just… We're _seventeen_, Blaine! I mean, most couples our age don't last twenty _days_, much less twenty _years._" They were both standing now, but on opposite ends of the couch. The distance felt awkward.

"You asked me to come to New York with you," said Blaine.

"Technically," muttered Kurt, looking down at his hands, "you _offered_ to come." He looked up at Blaine once more and instantly regretted his words when he saw the look on his face. "Not that I don't want you with me! But…Blaine. People are always saying that first loves are just too young to tell that there's a difference between your _first_ love and your _true _love." He looked at Blaine with sadness written on his face.

"Yeah," grunted Blaine as he grabbed his messenger bag off the coffee table and headed for the door. "And I thought you were both of mine."

Kurt watched, mouth open, as he slammed the door behind him.

88888888

Santana jumped back from her locker door with a yelp as she slammed it; surprised by the sudden of appearance of a worse-for-the-wear looking Kurt Hummel behind it.

"Jesus, Dorothy. Give a gal some warning next time," she said leaning up against the lockers and pretending to fan herself. "You look awful," she said, taking in his wrinkled button down that was so obviously not tucked into his loose-fitting jeans. "Where's your munchkin?" Kurt lowered his head at the allusion to Blaine.

"We're sort of fighting right now," he said, still looking down. Santana rolled her eyes.

"What, did you make out with my 'boyfriend' again?" she snorted as Kurt looked up at her, horrified.

"He _told_ you about that?" he asked, disbelieving. She shot him a death glare.

"I shudder to think at the secrets you know about me by now, Dough Face, so let's not go getting all defensive." Kurt swallowed before nodding his head in agreement and looking back at her. "Now, why is it that you're all up in my biz-nit this early in the morning, dressed like a homeless Columbia grad?" She crossed her arms and looked him up and down once more. He sighed.

"You're right about me knowing your secrets," he breathed. "I know about Brittany, and how you feel about her." Santana gave a little couch to acknowledge that he could continue without threat of murder. "I want us to sing a duet in glee club." She looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Excuse me?" she hissed at a dangerously low volume.

"I have a song that I want to sing to Blaine so that he'll realize how I feel about him, since he obviously doesn't believe me when I just _say_ it." Kurt shook his head as if to rid it of rude comments before continuing. "And it got me thinking about you and Brittany, and how you want her to realize how much you love her." Santana lowered her eyes in embarrassment. "So I thought, maybe, we could sing it together."

Kurt watched her for a few moments as she seemed to consider the idea. After a solid few seconds of silence had passed, she looked at him with her cheekiest of grins. "I'm in."

88888888

Kurt got to glee early the next day and picked his usual seat in the back, making sure there was an empty one next to it for Blaine. When the latter walked in, Kurt motioned hurriedly for him to quickly sit in his seat and watched with a heavy heart as Blaine walked to sit next to Quinn instead. When Mr. Schue bounced in, before he could go into a string of announcements, Kurt's hand shot into the air, his eyes never leaving the back of Blaine's head.

"Yes, Kurt?" asked Mr. Schue, obviously confused but not totally thrown off. Surprise announcements/ concerns/ opinions/ performances were a normal glee club occurrence.

"Mr. Schue, if I may. Santana and I have prepared a duet that we wish to share… with the class." He seemed to add on the last part as an afterthought. It wasn't really for the class, but they were going to witness it whether they wanted to or not.

"Um, of course, Kurt! Impromptu performances keep us on our toes! I'm excited by your commitment!" He walked forward to sit down as Kurt and Santana both took their places on the piano bench. Kurt was the only one playing, but Santana felt it added something to the performance if they sat together. As Kurt started the opening chords he looked to make sure Blaine was looking at him, and did not let his gaze fall for the rest of the song.

_When the rain  
>Is blowing in your face<br>And the whole world  
>Is on your case<br>I could offer you  
>A warm embrace<br>To make you feel my love_

_When the evening shadows  
>And the stars appear<br>And there is no one there  
>To dry your tears<br>I could hold you  
>For a million years<br>To make you feel my love  
><em>_[ Lyrics from: .com/lyrics/a/adele/make_you_feel_my_ ]__  
>I know you<br>Haven't made  
>Your mind up yet<br>But I would never  
>Do you wrong<br>I've known it  
>From the moment<br>That we met  
>No doubt in my mind<br>Where you belong_

_I'd go hungry  
>I'd go black and blue<br>I'd go crawling  
>Down the avenue<br>No, there's nothing  
>That I wouldn't do<br>To make you feel my love_

_The storms are raging  
>On the rolling sea<br>And on the highway of regret  
>Though winds of change<br>Are blowing wild and free  
>You ain't seen nothing<br>Like me yet_

_I could make you happy  
>Make your dreams come true<br>Nothing that I wouldn't do  
>Go to the ends<br>Of the Earth for you  
>To make you feel my love<em>

The room broke out in scattering applause as they finished and took a small, quasi-bow. Santana took her seat next to Brittany, who wordlessly rested her head on Santana's shoulder. The latter smiled as if that small act of affection was all she had ever wanted from anyone.

Kurt walked back to his seat and crossed his legs, looking straight ahead. When Mr. Schue had finally finished talking he felt a figure sit down in the seat next to him. Blaine's seat.

"I meant every word," Kurt said, under his breath, not looking up to see the face of the person sitting beside him.

"I know."

"I'm not scared of the future, Blaine. I want you in it." He swallowed hard. "And I'm sorry if it ever came across that I didn't."

"I shouldn't have freaked out the way I did. It was stupid."

"Can we be stupid _together_ again?" Kurt asked, looking at him for the first time, and feeling suddenly much warmer when he saw the smile on Blaine's face.

"For as long as you want me."

Kurt leaned in and kissed him sweetly.

**A/N – There we go! A proper chapter! I'm so sorry about the Klaine fighting, but they are a teenage couple and that's what teenage couples do! I really REALLY REALLY want someone to do this song next season, it's one of my all time favorites. **

**REVIEW! Tell me what you think!**

**LOVE EXPOLSIONS! **


	14. Pumpkins and Mon Chou

*This is starting to get less and less like an actual episode of Glee and more and more like fanfiction but I like it so I don't really mind! I hope you like it too!

*I don't own Glee. But name your price, Ryan Murphy.

* I don't actually know if Kurt's birthday has ever been mentioned in the show but for our intents and purposes it's going to be very early in the year. And Blaine's is even earlier. Like, the summer. :)

*By the way, the new character is Anne Hathaway's supposed character. I have no idea what she's actually supposed to be like so this will turn incredibly NON canon eventually but I have a feeling she'll be enjoyable all the same.

Pumpkins and Mon Chou

The month of November was drawing to a close and for Kurt Hummel that meant two things. One: scarf and glove weather was in full swing, and his usual parade of wool and tweed coats would soon begin, and two: his birthday. This birthday, however, was not like any other birthday. This was his _eighteenth _birthday. After November 25th, Kurt Hummel would be a legal adult. Kurt loved the day of his birthday. It was generally right around, or even on, Thanksgiving Day, which meant he almost always got off school on his birthday and this year was no exception.

This Thanksgiving would be the first one the Hummels and the Hudsons spent together as a joined family unit. Kurt loved the idea of big family gestures and it was evident to Blaine, as they went shopping for ingredients on Tuesday, that he was incredibly excited to help Carol cook a gourmet Thanksgiving feast.

"Remind me again why you're buying _shrimp _as well as a decently sized turkey for Thanksgiving dinner?" Blaine said, trying to rearrange the cart before its contents tumbled to the floor of the supermarket. He gazed down at Kurt who was currently very busy analyzing the differences between the four variations of bread flour on the bottom shelf.

"Because, Blaine," Kurt sighed, "shrimp is chic. It's an appetizer with enough meat to hold you over but not so heavy that it leaves you too full for dinner. It's simple, but for some reason considered one the more sophisticated forms of protein- when made correctly." He decided on the bread flour closest to the right. "Besides," he said, standing up to full height, "have you ever seen Finn _eat?_ I literally have to double everything because he can eat as much as the other four of us together." Blaine shot him a confused look.

"Four? Wouldn't it just be four if you're not counting Finn?" He pushed the cart as Kurt bounced along beside him, grocery list and pen in hand.

"No, I meant four. My aunt is coming into town from New York City to eat with us." They pulled up beside the display of fresh green beans and Kurt clicked his tongue while Blaine smiled.

"I didn't know you have an aunt in New York City! What's she like?" Blaine reached over to help Kurt gather beans into a plastic bag.

"Young. She's my mom's younger sister; by about eight years I think. She moves around a lot; all over the world, usually with her girlfriend. I haven't actually seen her for a couple years, but she sends me gifts and stuff in the mail. She has excellent taste in headwear."

"Wait," Blaine said, trying to catch up, "you said, 'with her girlfriend'. So you mean she's…"

"Gay?" asked Kurt, eyebrow raised, "oh yeah."

"How gay?" Blaine pushed, smiling.

"On a scale from Portia de Rossi to Rachel Maddow I'd say she was about a Cynthia Nixon." Blaine snorted. "However, she recently broke up with aforementioned girlfriend, so she might be more a of a Melissa Etheridge."

"Are you excited to see her?" Blaine asked, trying to study Kurt's face, but finding it blank.

"I suppose." Kurt shrugged. "I don't know. I feel bad for her. Both her parents are dead, her sister's dead, and her long-time girlfriend just left her for a _man_." He gave Blaine a meaningful look, as the latter gasped. "Yep. Bisexual. But failed to mention it for almost five years." Blaine gasped again. "Yeah. So she's all alone and my dad found out somehow and offered for her to spend Thanksgiving with us."

"Your dad is just amazing," sighed Blaine and Kurt nodded in agreement. "When does she come in?" They continued down the next aisle in an attempt to find zero-trans fat Crisco.

"Late tonight. You want to come over tomorrow and meet her? She can be pretty fascinating from what I recall."

"Yeah," Blaine said, smiling and grabbing Kurt's hand, still steering the cart with his other one. "Absolutely." Kurt smiling at him and wove their fingers together as they walked.

88888888

The next afternoon, the day before Thanksgiving, right as he was about to leave his house to go to Kurt's to meet his aunt and possibly help with pre-dinner preparations, Blaine had received a panicked phone call begging him to '_please _go to the farmer's market and get two of the best and ripest pumpkins you can find'. The market had been closed before they could get there the previous day; but remembering what they had been doing in Kurt's car _instead_ of going to the market, Blaine couldn't bring himself to be too sorry.

A few hours later, Blaine was slowly working his way to the Hummel-Hudson front door. He was carefully balancing a pumpkin in each arm, with plastic bags full of cans of pumpkin pie mix weighing down either crook of his elbow. When he finally reached it, Blaine stood in front of the door for a few moments, contemplating the easiest and safest way to ring the doorbell that would not result in a pumpkin avalanche. Deciding that he'd officially left his dignity behind at the market when he'd dropped one of the pumpkins on his own foot walking back to the car, he decided on using his forehead, and bent down rather sheepishly to ring it.

On the second attempt, he heard yelling from the inside, none of it really making coherent sense. _Finally_ Blaine saw a figure he did not recognize coming towards the door and when it opened he had to physically stop himself from letting his jaw drop. Standing in front of him, holding open the door and smiling, was the most beautiful woman Blaine had ever seen in his life. She was tall, with the perfect balance of curvature to her figure. Her skin was milky pale, just like her nephew's, her hair was long and dark, and her eyes were wide and glassy, like a doe's. She wore dark washed skinny jeans and large brown boots that laced up almost to the knee. The large, emerald green sweater she wore was buttoned and belted at just the right curve in her abdomen. This, Blaine thought, was a woman.

It was a moment before Blaine realized he was staring. The beautiful woman was smiling at him with a sparkle in her eyes, as if she was laughing at him internally.

"You must be the 'Blaine' I kept hearing my nephew screech about from the kitchen," she said. Her voice, with its slight southern drawl, was like honey with just a kiss of vinegar.

"Nice to meet you," Blaine said, smiling his most charismatic smile and attempting to reach out to shake her hand before realizing he was skill laden with gourds. She laughed out loud as he struggled trying not to drop them.

"Jesus honey, come in before you kill yourself or Kurt tries to throw another rolling pin at someone." At the mention of Kurt's name Blaine's mind cleared and he smiled with thanks at her before scooting through the door and down the hall into the kitchen.

Blaine let out a sigh of relief as he set the pumpkins and cans on the table and turned to look at Kurt, who was yet to see him. He looked as if he was attempting to roll something out, grumbling under his breath as he did so, cheeks even more flushed than usual, and flour speckling his hair.

"Whatcha doing over there?" Blaine asked playfully, jumping back as Kurt flinched and spun around, branding the rolling pin like a weapon in front of him. "Ok! Ok! Message received!" Blaine stuttered.

"Blaine!" Kurt gasped as he realized who had interrupted him. Blaine smiled hesitantly at him. "When did you get here?"

"Aw, I missed you too!" Blaine schmoozed, leaning in a kissing Kurt on his cheek before walking around him to wash his hands and grab an apron. Kurt's focused/angry expression didn't change as his gaze followed Blaine around the room.

"Pumpkins?" he asked, not seeing them on the kitchen table.

"Yes, Sugarlips?" Blaine answered, a coy grin on his face as he turned to face Kurt again. The latter's right eyebrow was reaching dangerous levels and Blaine sighed in resignation, his game over. "They're on the table." Kurt walked over to the table and began inspecting them as Blaine went to stand behind him. "Are they ok?" he asked tentatively.

"They look okay to me," sighed Kurt as he finished prodding and rolling the second pumpkin and diverted his gaze to the plastic bags beside them and pulled out a can of pie mix. "What the hell is this?" he asked, examining the can as if it had personally offended him. Blaine blanched.

"Look, I know you were worried about making a pumpkin pie since you usually make apple until Finn whined about not having pumpkin on Thanksgiving so I thought…maybe…just in case." Blaine shrugged and blushed. Kurt could be very sensitive about anything that might somehow be taken as criticism of something he's proud of, like fashion or baking. Blaine studied his boyfriend's face but it was oddly expressionless. "Not that I don't think you can do it!" Blaine clarified. Kurt's gaze rose to meet his.

"I just thought…you know…in case…" Next thing he knew, Blaine felt the air fly out of his lungs as Kurt's strong arms flew around his neck in a tackle hug.

"You're too sweet to me," Kurt mumbled into Blaine's shoulder, who laughed.

"Well one of us has to be!" laughed Blaine as they pulled apart, Kurt's arms still hanging loosely on Blaine's shoulders. "What's this about you throwing _rolling pins_ at people?" Kurt blushed angrily as Blaine smiled.

"It's this damn 'zero trans fat Crisco'! It doesn't roll out as well as the old kind. I don't know what they took out that had all the trans fat in it but evidently in was crucial in pie-crust rolling." Kurt sighed out of desperation as Blaine tightened his hold around his waist and smiled at him. "And then I was on my fourth or fifth try of getting it to work without breaking and Finn just innocently walks in and asks 'How's it goin'?' and I…snapped." Blaine let out one bright laugh.

"You _threw_ a rolling pin at Finn?" he asked, seemingly in disbelief.

"I didn't actually hit him, if that makes it any better," shrugged Kurt. They shared a laugh before breaking apart and getting back to work on the pies. "So did he tell you about that when he left you in?" Kurt asked as he cut the top off the first pumpkin.

"What? Oh, no. He didn't let me in. A woman, who I'm gonna assume was your aunt and NOT a different girlfriend of Finn's, let me in."

"Oh you met Dee already?" Kurt asked, brightening at her mention.

"Is that her name?" Blaine asked. Carving the top out of his own pumpkin.

"Well, it's actually Delilah. Delilah Bernadette Carmichael. But everyone just calls her Dee."

"Wow," whistled Blaine. "That's quite the name. Did your granddaddy own a plantation down in Alabama or something?" He chuckled to himself.

"New Orleans, actually," retorted Kurt, not looking up from his pumpkin. Blaine coughed in surprise. "My mom, Elizabeth Lorelei Carmichael, came from old southern money. She was quite the lady," he said with a wink. Blaine nodded his head to show that he was impressed. "And so is my auntie Dee."

"Oh, I have no doubt," smiled Blaine. He dropped his voice as he asked his next question. "How's- um- how's Finn handling it?" Blaine seemed uncomfortable with his own question and kept his gazed firmly on his pumpkin.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked, genuinely confused as to why Blaine seemed so embarrassed.

"Kurt," Blaine moaned, "have you _seen_ her?" Kurt shot him a questioning gaze as Blaine sent back a meaningful look. Kurt gasped.

"Ew! Blaine! First of all, she's about ten years too old for him and second of all he's got a bit of a

'P' where she prefers a 'V' if you know what I'm s-"

"Yes. Kurt," Blaine interrupted, holding up one hand to stop him from finishing his sentence. "I didn't ask if he thought he had a shot with her. I asked how he's _handling_ it. Is he being…normal? Or is he Finn-ing out about it?" Kurt snorted.

"Between you and me, I've been sending him out on a lot of errands or suggesting outings with Rachel to keep him out of the house. And I think after the rolling pin incident, he'll probably take them to heart."

It took them over an hour to make two pumpkin pies with decent tasting filling _and_ crusts without giant cracks in them, and by the time they were finished, the couple was exhausted. As they took the second pie out of the oven to cool they held their breath, waiting for something to go wrong as Blaine lowered it to the cooling rack. The sigh when it was down and safe was audible.

"I can't believe I put _that_ much effort into a dessert I don't even get to eat!" Blaine whined as Kurt led him by hand to the living room to unwind.

"I would say I'll save you a piece but it's a holiday where the only activity is eating and the men in my family are wont to do that quite thoroughly. "

"That's ok. Sweet of you to offer," yawned Blaine as he sunk into the couch. Kurt sunk right next to him; feet curled underneath him leaning against Blaine's right side, hugging his arm with both of his own. Blaine had just reached for the remote to turn on some meaningless show that they could both fall asleep to when Dee walked into the room.

"Wooh! Well, fellas, it sure took you long enough but the whole house smells delicious, so I'm assuming you did _something_ right!" She sat down on the loveseat to their left and made herself comfortable. "I don't think we've been properly introduced, Blaine. My name is Delilah, but you can call me Dee. Or Auntie. Really anything besides Delilah." Blaine gave her a dazzling smile.

"Pleasure to meet you, Dee. Blaine. Blaine Anderson." He stretched out his hand for hers and they shook as Kurt watched with a mocking smile on his face.

"Kurt Hummel, I'll invite you to wipe that cheeky grin off your mug before I launch into a seemingly never-ending stream of embarrassing baby stories," she hissed good-naturedly. Kurt's grin fell instantly and he clung to Blaine's arm a little tighter.

"Don't listen to a thing she says, Blaine. Lies. All lies." Blaine let out a barking laugh and kissed the top of Kurt's head, which seemly to mollify him for a moment at least. Dee laughed along with them.

"Oh relax, mon chou," she giggled. Blaine crooked his neck around to look down at Kurt who was smiling up at him and raised his eyebrows in question.

"It's French," said Kurt. "It's a term of endearment, like 'pumpkin' or 'dear', but I think it technically means 'cabbage'." Blaine smiled. "She's always called me that. Guess it comes from growing up close to the French quarter?"

"It's not your staggering resemblance to vegetation?" teased Blaine, grinning at Kurt, who stuck his tongue out before Blaine leaned down to kiss his forehead.

"If y'all get any sweeter I'm gonna have to go check for cavities," laughed Dee from the loveseat as the couple sat up, giving each other a couple millimeters of personal space so as not to be tempted. She stared at them for a few moments, a slightly dazed smile on her face as they continued to speak without words. Blaine massaged the back of Kurt's neck gently as Kurt traced patterns up and down Blaine's hands. After a few moments in silence a thought hit her.

"Is this how you act at school? Or on dates? Or even when you're just out together?" She sounded genuinely curious, and Kurt lifted his head from Blaine's shoulder to meet her gaze and then Blaine's, shrugging.

"We hold hands sometimes, usually when there aren't many people around. And there's always movie theatres and stuff…" Kurt blushed at the memories of some of the goings-on in movie theatres. "We actually went to prom together last year." Dee's face lit up.

"Really! Well, how did that go?"

Kurt turned a deep shade of red and Blaine rubbed his neck a little more forcefully.

"I- um- I got voted Prom Queen." Kurt fought hard to keep his face blank and after a moment even gave a small, still freshly bitter, smile. Dee blinked.

"I admire you two." They looked at her questioningly. "When I was in high school I hid who I was like my life depended on it. And looking back, it's very possible that it did." She took a deep breath and continued. "I dated every boy that even looked at me too long. I dressed in pink and white and ruffles and went to every damn country club event they could throw at my dad. I didn't trust any of my friends because I felt like if I hung around them too much they would figure out my secret. Like, they would smell it on me. It scared me, all the time, even after I got out of high school. And I felt incredibly and completely alone."

"What happened?" Blaine asked quietly.

"I told someone," she murmured, looking at her hands in her lap and then directly into Kurt's eyes. "I told my big sister. And- and she didn't care! She said that no matter who I was attracted to or who I fell in love with, I was still her beautiful baby sister. And that she loved me." She looked into Kurt's eyes again as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

"And you two, you have something special. The way everyone in this house talks about Blaine like he's already family? The way you just _are_ together? Never let anyone belittle that. You're brave for just being who you are, even though you shouldn't have to be."

**A/N – Sorry this ended kind of awkwardly! I really just wanted to introduce this character and the next plot arch! Read and review! Tell me what you think of Delilah! Sorry it's been so long and THIS is what you get but I have a bunch of ideas that are spazzing around in my brain and I needed to intro some topics before moving forward. **

**LOVE EXPLOSIONS! **


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